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AMERICAN  POLITICS 


.POLITICAL  PARTIES 
AND  PARTY  PROBLEMS  IN  THE 
UNITED  STATES. 


A  SKETCH  OF  AMERICAN  PARTY  HISTORY  AND  OF  THE  DEVEL- 

I^ENT  AND  OPERATIONS  OF  PARTY  MACHINERY,  TOGETHER 

WITH  A  CONSIDERATION  OF  CERTAIN  PARTY  PROBLEMS 

IN  THEIR  RELATIONS  TO  POLITICAL  MORALITY 


BY 

JAMES  ALBERT  WOODBURN 

PROFESSOR  OF  AMERICAN  HISTORY  AND  POLITICS 
INDIANA  UNIVERSITY 


\.3  '  '>i :  V 


G.  P.  PUTNAM'S  SONS 

NEW  YORK  AND  LONDON 

Zbc  fcniclterbocl^et  prees 


'^  J, 


Copyright,  1903 

BY 

JAMES  ALBERT  WOODBURN 


Published  March,  1903 

Reprinted  September,  1903 

October,  1903  ;  April,  1906  ;  January,  1909 

January,  X91X 


Ube  Itnicltetbocfier  press,  1%ew  |?orlt 


PREFACE 

THIS  book,  as  indicated  in  its  table  of  contents,  has  to 
do,  not  with  forms  of  government  and  the  duties 
and  functions  of  public  officers,  b>it  with  the  party  spirit 
and  forces  that  underlie  and  operate  our  Government. 
The  book  is  a  study  of  parties  in  America, — of  party  his- 
tory, party  machinery,  party  morality,  party  problems. 
Party  has  always  been  the  agency  by  which  America  has 
been  governed,  and  therefore  party  politics  is  pre-emin- 
ently a  subject  that  demands  the  constant  attention  of 
intelligent  and  patriotic  citizens.  The  book  is  published 
in  the  hope  that  it  may  aid  in  promoting,  in  school  and 
home,  the  study  of  American  Politics. 

Politics  is  the  science  and  art  of  government,  the  study 
of  the  state,  its  life,  and  its  conduct.  Whether  looked  to 
as  a  field  of  study  or  as  a  field  of  practical  endeavor, 
Politics  is  a  noble  sphere  of  manly  thought,  energy,  and 
enterprise.  It  has  been  said  of  History  that  while  it  is 
not  a  valuable  study  for  the  education  of  men  it  is  invalu- 
able for  educated  men.  In  keeping  with  this  half-truth 
it  may  be  thought  that  while  Politics  is  a  fit  subject  for 
the  attention  of  mature  and  educated  men,  and  while 
educated  men  are  invaluable  in  political  life,  yet  as  a  sub- 
ject for  the  education  of  youth  Politics  may  not  be  looked 
to  with  any  assurance  of  profit.  This  view  of  political 
education,  if  it  ever  had  any  serious  hold  on  public 
thought,  is  rapidly  disappearing.  It  is  quite  certain  that 
the  study  of  Politics  in  American  schools  and  colleges  has 


238901 


IV  Preface 

received  a  notable  increase  of  attention  within  the  last 
decade.  Other  educational  agencies,  the  home,  the  press, 
the  pulpit,  the  literary  club,  the  civic  federation,  have  all 
been  emphasizing  the  need  of  civic  training.  All  educa- 
tion by  the  State  has  the  education  of  its  citizenship  for 
its  primary  purpose.  While  it  is  to  be  fully  recognized 
that  all  subjects  in  the  schools — the  mathematics,  the 
languages,  science,  history,  literature — may  be  equally 
useful  in  producing  an  educated  citizenship,  and  while  all 
education  has  this  largely  for  its  aim,  yet  there  is  a  wide- 
spread and  natural  public  demand  for  the  special  study  of 
those  subjects  that  relate  directly  and  especially  to  our 
political  life.  All  educational  agencies  in  America  are 
recognizing  this  demand,  and  consequently  the  study  of 
"Civics** — Politics  is  a  better  term — is  being  very  widely 
cultivated  and  promoted.  No  effort  that  may  still  further 
promote  this  educational  tendency  can  come  amiss. 

The  true  student  of  Politics  will  understand  that  the 
only  firm  foundation  for  his  science  rests  on  History. 
To  study  Politics  in  any  serious  sense  is  but  to  make 
a  large  use  of  History,  to  learn  the  lessons  of  experience 
for  future  guidance.  With  this  thought  in  mind  I  have 
devoted  nearly  half  of  my  volume  to  a  sketch  of  party 
history,  in  the  attempt  to  reduce  within  a  narrow  com- 
pass, not  what  may  be  claimed  as  a  history,  but  what 
may  be  offered  merely  as  an  outline  sketch  of  Ameri- 
can parties  under  the  Constitution.  The  sketch  may 
serve  to  introduce  the  reader  to  further  inquiry  and  study, 
and  this  study  will  surely  lead  him  to  appreciate  the  truth 
for  which  the  late  Professor  Seeley  so  ably  contended,  that 
the  chief  purpose  in  the  study  of  History  is  to  study  Poli- 
tics, to  study  the  life  and  progress  of  the  state,  the  mo- 
tives, means,  and  processes  by  which  men  have  built  and 
conducted  their  commonwealths.  When  we  come  to 
reflect  on  the  political  spirit  of  man,  and  the  wonderful 
part  it  has  played  in  the  history  of  the  world,,  especially 


Preface  v 

in  the  Anglo-Saxon  state,  it  will  be  conceded  that  no  part 
of  man's  being  is  more  worthy  of  attention  and  cultiva- 
tion. It  is  a  field  which  a  great  teacher,  Thomas  Arnold, 
has  called  the  most  important  for  the  ripened  human 
mind, — that  one  may  become  a  factor  in  the  greatest 
problem  in  human  history,  the  problem  of  governing 
men.  In  all  possible  ways  history  should  be  used  for 
political  education  and  for  the  cultivation  of  the  true 
political  spirit  that  is  so  important  in  popular  govern- 
ment. This  relation  of  Politics  to  History  it  has  been  my 
aim  to  emphasize.  In  my  sketch  of  party  history  I  have 
sought  also  to  have  the  reader  appreciate  more  fully  and 
more  highly  than  is  usually  done  certain  positive  and 
aggressive  forces  in  third-party  agitations  that  have  ef- 
fectually modified  the  course  of  national  party  history, 
that  he  may  be  led  to  see  that  even  party  history,  after 
all,  is  not  entirely  machine  made. 

The  cultivation  of  the  political  spirit  suggests  another 
phase  of  Politics  which  I  have  sought  to  emphasize, — the 
political  morality  of  the  state.  Education  in  Politics  is 
not  chiefly  a  question  of  knowledge :  it  is  a  question  of 
character.  As  the  wit  and  wisdom  of  Sidney  Smith  long 
since  observed,  *'the  only  foundation  of  political  liberty 
is  the  spirit  of  the  people.**  It  is  not  forms  of  govern- 
ment, nor  the  machinery  of  parties,  but  civic  character  on 
which  the  state  relies.  As  President  Hadley  has  very 
well  said,  **  Better  the  worst  form  of  government  with 
character  and  righteousness  in  the  rulers  and  the  ruled 
than  the  best  form  of  government  with  the  rulers  and  the 
ruled  indifferent  to  moral  principles.*'  Because  of  this 
close  and  vital  relation  of  politics  to  ethics,  and  because 
of  the  direct  dependence  of  national  character  on  politi- 
cal conduct  we  may  well  conclude  that  De  Toqueville 
was  right  when  he  said  that  **  politics  is  the  end  and  aim 
of  American  education.*'  If  the  life  of  the  Republic 
depends  upon  the  moral  character  of  its  citizenship  all 


VI  Preface 

instruction  should  constantly,  if  not  consciously,  keep  in 
view  this  aspect  of  political  literature  and  education. 

Horace  Mann  used  to  say  that  what  America  wishes  to 
put  into  the  life  of  the  nation  she  must  first  put  into  her 
schools.  But  no  saving  force  can  go  into  the  schools  of 
a  nation  that  does  not  first  exist  as  a  vital  force  in  the 
nation's  homes.  In  all  periods  of  our  history  Politics 
should  be  brought  home  to  the  people;  but  the  present,  it 
seems  to  me,  is  a  time  when  this  demand  should  be  made 
especially  emphatic.  Ordinary  political  issues  may  not 
call  for  discussion  in  school  and  home.  But  when  the 
political  rectitude  of  the  people  is  brought  into  issue; 
when  rich  men  are  known  to  buy  their  way  into  high 
office;  when  it  becomes  an  actual  question  whether  a 
State  shall  surrender  its  virtue  to  outrage  and  its  people 
to  pillage ;  when  unscrupulous  men  deliberately,  openly, 
and  unblushingly  set  about  to  corrupt  the  electorate  of 
great  commonwealths  and  yet  are  permitted  to  stand  for 
the  highest  honors  of  their  States, — at  such  times  ordinary 
issues  would  seem  to  fade  into  insignificance  and  appeal 
should  be  made  to  the  moral  forces  that  constitute  the 
foundations  of  our  political  society.  In  the  face  of  such 
issues  teachers,  parents,  and  the  moral  pastors  of  the 
people  should  make  Politics  a  matter  of  personal  concern. 
There  are  many  lines  of  influence,  of  thought,  and  of 
activity,  along  which  these  forces  may  make  themselves 
felt.  The  study  of  Politics  is  one  of  these,  and  this  book 
is  offered  as  a  plea  for  the  awakening  of  greater  civic  in- 
terest in  parties  and  party  government,  and  as  an  intro- 
duction to  subjects  that  touch  vitally  the  political  life 
and  character  of  the  people. 

J.  A.  W. 

Indiana  University,  Bloomington,  Indiana. 
February  21,  1903. 


CONTENTS 

CHAPTER  I 

PAGE 

Political  Parties  before  the  Constitution  .        •        3 

CHAPTER  II 

The   Hamiltonian    Federalists   and   the   Jeffer- 

SONIAN  Republicans 13 

CHAPTER  III 
The  Period  of  Personal  Politics    .        ,        .        •      3' 

CHAPTER  IV 
The  Whigs  and  the  Jacksonian  Democrats  .        .      38 

CHAPTER  V 

The  Abolitionists  and  the  Liberty  Party    .        .      50 

CHAPTER  VI 
The  Free-Soilers 65 

CHAPTER  VII 

The  Early  Republicans ,82 

CHAPTER  VIII 
Recent  Party  History •      94 

vii 


viii  Contents 

CHAPTER  IX 

PAGB 

Minor  Parties 133 

CHAPTER  X 
The  Composition  of  the  National  Convention     .     151 

CHAPTER  XI 
The  Rise  of  the  Convention  System      .        •        .     165 

CHAPTER  XII 
The  National  Convention  of  To- Day    .         ,       ' .     175 

CHAPTER  XIII 
The  Conduct  of  the  Campaign        ....     197 

CHAPTER  XIV 
v^      Our  Political  Morality  .         .         .         .        .         ,     219 

CHAPTER  XV 
An  Honest  Ballot 234 

CHAPTER  XVI 

Rings  and  Bosses       .......     242 

CHAPTER  XVII 
The  Spoils  System 254 

CHAPTER  XVIII 
Party  Assessments .    266 

CHAPTER  XIX 
The  Gerrymander      .        ,        ,        •        •        •        •     275 


Contents  ix 

CHAPTER  XX 

VAGB 

Primary  Election  Reform        .        •       •       •        •  283 

CHAPTER  XXI 

Independence  and  Party  Loyalty  •        •        •        •  295 

Index 3^5 


POLITICAL  PARTIES  AND  PARTY 
PROBLEMS  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES 


PART  I 


AN  HISTORICAL  SKETCH  OF  AMERICAN 
POLITICAL  PARTIES 


CHAPTER  I 

POLITICAL  PARTIES  BEFORE  THE  CONSTITUTION 

IN  another  volume  we  have  considered  the  structure  of 
the  State  and  National  governments,  their  legal  frame- 
work, and  the  relation  of  these  governments  to  one 
another.  In  this  volume  we  shall  consider  the  politi- 
cal forces  by  which  these  governments  are  opera- 
ted. Ours  is  a  government  by  party.  The  popular 
actual  forces  that  operate  the  government  are  ^J^  q"^*"* 
party  forces.  ^  In  all  forms  of  popular  govern-  ment  by 
ment,   wherever  men    are   striving   to   govern  ^^'^^^ 

themselves  and  to  realize  government  by  the  people, 
political  parties  exist.  ^'  People  divide  according  to  their 
views  on  public  measures.  The  only  way  we  have  yet 
found  to  carry  on  free  government  is  by  organized,  drilled, 
and  disciplined  parties.*  We  must,  therefore,  study  the 
origin  and  growth  of  political  parties  in  America,  their 
present  constitution  and  machinery,  and  the  methods 
by  which  this  machinery  is  worked.  "In  America," 
says  Mr.  Bryce,  "the  government  gaes  for  less  than  in 
Europe,  the  parties  count  for  more.  The  great  moving 
forces  are  the  parties." 

Party  history  in  America  may,  for  convenience,  be 
broadly  divided  into  certain  periods.  In  this  chapter  we 
shall  deal  with : 

'See  Bradford's  The  Lesson  of  Popular  Government,  vol.  i.,  p.  493, 
on  "  The  Spirit  of  Party." 


"'  » 


4      Political  Parties  and  Party  Problems 

The  Colonial  and  Revolutionary  Period. — There  were 
throughout  this  period  no  party  organization  and  ma- 
coioniai  chinery  as  we  understand  those  terms  to-day. 
Parties.  There  were  men  of  different  views,  and  they 
may  have  been  divided  into  bodies  of  conflicting  opinion. 
Before  the  Revolution  what  party  conflicts  appear  were 
between  the  royal  governor,  standing  for  royal  prerogative 
and  power,  and  the  colonial  assemblies,  standing  for  the 
enlargement  of  colonial  rights  and  liberties.  In  1812, 
John  Adams  said  that  party  division  began  in  America 
with  its  first  plantation,  arising  from  human  nature,  and 
that  in  all  the  Colonies  a  court  party  and  a  country  party 
had  always  contended.*  In  a  general  way  party  divisions 
in  the  Colonies  corresponded  to  the  party  divisions  in 
England.  These  were  Whigs  or  Liberals,  and  Tories  or 
Conservatives.  At  the  opening  of  the  Revolution  the 
Whigs  opposed  the  policy  of  King  George  and  his  Minis- 
ters, while  the  Tories  supported  it.  The  Americans  were 
i  mostly  Whigs.  They  had  been  dissenters  at  home,  po- 
\  litically  and  religiously, — men  who  were  inclined  to  resist 
I  governmental  interference  and  authority  and  stand  for 
their  personal  rights  and  liberties. 

Samuel  Johnson,  in  his  Taxation  No  Tyranny,  written 
in  1774,  in  opposition  to  the  American  Revolution,  re- 
ferred to  the  fact  that  there  were  not  only  three  million 
men  in  America  in  resistance  to  government,  but  that 
there  were  three  million  Whigs.  Lord  Chatham,  January 
20,  1775,  on  a  motion  for  withdrawing  the  troops  from 
Boston,  said  in  Parliament : 

"This  resistance  to  your  arbitrary  system  of  taxation  might 
have  been  foreseen.  It  was  obvious  from  the  nature  of  things, 
Thewhi  ^^^  °^  mankind;  and,  above  all,  from  the  Whig- 
Spirit  of  the  gisk  Spirit  flourishing  in  that  country.  The  spirit 
American       which  now  Tcsists  your  taxation  in  America  is  the 

Revolution.  ^ 

same  which  formerly  opposed  loans,  benevolences, 
*  Works,  vol.  ».,.p.  23. 


Political  Parties  before  the  Constitution      5 

and  ship-money  in  England;  the  same  spirit  which  called  all 
England  on  its  legs  and  by  the  Bill  of  Rights  vindicated  the 
English  Constitution;  the  same  spirit  which  established  the 
great  fundamental  essential  maxim  of  your  liberties, — that  no 
subject  of  England  shall  be  taxed  but  by  his  own  consent. 
This  glorious  spirit  of  Whiggism  animates  three  millions  in 
America  who  prefer  poverty  with  liberty  to  gilded  chains  and 
sordid  affluence ;  and  who  will  die  in  defence  of  their  rights  as 
men  and  as  freemen."  ^ 

These  colonial  Whigs  and  Tories  corresponded  in 
opinion  and  character  to  the  English  parties  of  the  same 
name.  It  may  be  profitable  to  understand  the  origin  and 
the  underlying  characteristics  of  these  English  parties. 

Macaulay  attributes  the  first  appearance   of  modern 
parties  in  English  history  to  the  time  when  the  English 
Parliament  had  under  consideration  their  Grand 
Remonstrance  to  Charles  I.,  in  1641.     During      of  Modern 
the  previous  troublous  years  under  the  Stuarts,         English 

,  -r^      ,.  .  t  .1-  Parties. 

the  Parliamentarians  who  were  contending 
for  the  rights  of  Englishmen  under  the  law  in  opposition 
to  royal  prerogative,  acted  as  a  united  body.  When  the 
Long  Parliament  finally  assembled,  their  popular  leaders 
struck  down  abuse  after  abuse  without  a  struggle.  The 
abolition  of  the  Star  Chamber  and  the  High  Commission 
Court,  the  Triennial  Act  requiring  frequent  Parliaments, 
the  impeachment  of  Laud,  and  the  attainder  of  Strafford 
occasioned  no  serious  divisions  in  the  Commons. 

**  But,"  says  Macaulay,  **  when  in  October,  1641,  the  ParHa- 
ment  reassembled  after  a  short  recess,  two  hostile  parties,  essen- 
tially the  same  with  those  which,  under  different  names,  have 
ever  since  contended,  and  are  still  contending,  for  the  direc- 
tion of  public  affairs,  appeared  confronting  each  other.  Dur- 
ing some  years  they  were  designated  as  *  Cavaliers  *  and 
*  Roundheads.'  They  were  subsequently  called  'Whigs* 
*  Goodrich,  British  Eloquence^  p.  130. 


6      Political  Parties  and  Party  Problems 

and  *  Tories. '  One  of  these  represents  a  party  zealous  for 
authority  and  antiquity,  the  other  was  zealous  for  liberty  and 
progress.  .  .  .  Everywhere  there  is  a  class  of  men  who 
cling  with  fondness  to  whatever  is  ancient,  and  who,  even  when 
convinced  by  overpowering  reasons  that  innovation  would  be 
beneficial,  consent  to  it  with  many  misgivings  and  forebodings. 
We  find  also  everywhere  another  class  of  men,  sanguine  in  hope, 
bold  in  speculation,  always  pressing  forward,  quick  to  discern 
the  imperfections  of  whatever  exists,  disposed  to  think  lightly 
of  the  risks  of  change,  and  disposed  to  give  every  change  credit 
for  being  an  improvement."  ^ 

On  this  general  ground  of  the  difference  between  con- 
servatism and  radicalism,  Mr.  Macaulay  bases  the  origin 
and  distinction  of  English  parties.     It  was  in 

Conservatism  o  jr 

vs.  1679,  during  the  agitation   on  the  Exclusion 

Radicalism,    -g-jj^  ^^^^  ^^^  ^^^^^  . .  ^^ j^  "  and  ' '  Tory  ' '  were 

first  applied  to  these  parties.  Those  who  were  beseeching 
the  king,  Charles  II.,  again  to  summon  the  dissolved  Par- 
liament in  order  that  they  might  compass  the  exclusion  of  a 
"Petitioners"  CathoHc  prince  from  the  throne,  were  called 
vs.  "Petitioners."     Those  who  expressed  abhor- 

orrers.  ^^^^^  ^^  such  an  attempt  to  restrict  the  king's 
prerogative  were  called  "Abhorrers."  These  soon  be- 
came known  as  Whigs  and  Tories.  The  nickname 
**Whig,"  according  to  Macaulay,  was  first  given  in  re- 
proach to  the  Presbyterian  zealots  of  Scotland,  who, 
driven  mad  by  persecution,  were  in  outlawry  against  the 
forces  of  the  king.  The  term  was  soon  transferred  to 
those  English  politicians  who  showed  a  disposition  to  op- 
pose the  Court  and  to  treat  Protestant  Non- 
"Tory^"  *"  conformists  with  indulgence.  According  to 
Originally      ^^g  same  authority,  the  term  "Tory  "  was  first 

Nicknames.  1.     ,  1        y^      1      1.  1  •         t        1 

applied  to  the  Catholic  outlaws  in  the  bogs  of 
Ireland,  and  was  soon  transferred  to  those  Englishmen 
who  refused  to  concur  in  excluding  a  Roman  Catholic 

*  Macaulay,  History  of  England^  vol.  i. 


Political  Parties  before  the  Constitution    7 

prince  from  the  throne.  Lecky  says  that  the  **Tory** 
was  originally  an  Irish  robber  and  that  the  term  was  af- 
terwards extended  to  the  opposers  of  exclusion:  and 
the  term  *  *  Whig ' '  began  when  the  Cameronians  took  up 
arms  for  their  religion,  and  was  derived  from  the  whey,  or 
refuse  milk,  which  their  poverty  obliged  them  to  use.* 

We  may  think  of  the  Tory,  then,  as  a  supporter  of  the 
English  Church  and  the  prerogatives  of  the  English 
Crown.  Those  who  were  for  tolerance  toward  Noncon- 
formists were  naturally  Whigs.  The  Tories  were  for  the 
country  aristocracy,  the  landed  gentry,  and  were  jealous 
of  new  men,  of  the  growing  commercial  classes,  of  the 
commonalty.     The  Whigs  stood  for  these  latter  classes. 

The  difference  indicated  by  Macaulay  between  the 
Whig  and  the  Tory — the  difference  between  the  radical 
and  the  conservative — is  supported  by  Hallam.  In  a 
notable  passage  Hallam  says : 

"They  differed  in  this:  The  Tory  looked  to  the  Constitution 
as  an  ultimate  document  from  which  he  could  not  swerve  and 
which  it  was  political  heresy  to  think  of  changing. 
The  Whig  regarded  the  public  welfare  the  highest  "^J^L?. 
law  and  stood  ready  for  any  change  in  the  Consti-  ence  between 
tution  or  for  any  form  of  government  by  which  the  **^'  p^fue*^ 
public  welfare  would  clearly  be  promoted.  The 
Whig  had  a  natural  tendency  to  improvement,  the  Tory  an 
aversion  to  it.  The  Whig  loved  to  descant  on  liberty  and  the 
love  of  mankind ;  the  Tory  on  the  mischiefs  of  sedition  and  the 
rights  of  kings.  The  Whig  made  the  privileges  of  the  subject, 
the  Tory  the  privileges  of  the  Crown,  his  peculiar  care.  The 
Tory  might  aid  in  establishing  despotism,  the  Whig  in  subvert- 
ing monarchy.  The  Tory  was  generally  hostile  to  the  liberty 
of  the  Press,  to  freedom  of  inquiry,  to  freedom  of  religion; 
the  Whig  was  their  friend.     The  principle  of  the  Whig  was 

'  Lecky,  History  of  England  in  the  Eighteenth  Century,  According  to 
another  version.  Whig  was  derived  from  "Whiggam,"  a  word  employed 
by  Scotch  cattle-drovers  in  the  west  in  driving  their  horses. 


8      Political  Parties  and  Party  Problems 

amelioration ;  of  the  Tory,  conservation.  The  Whigs  appear 
to  have  taken  a  far  more  comprehensive  view  of  the  nature  and 
ends  of  civil  society;  their  principle  is  more  virtuous,  more 
flexible  to  the  variations  of  time  and  circumstance,  more  con- 
genial to  masculine  intellects.  The  parties  bear  some  analogy 
to  the  two  forces  which  retain  the  planetary  bodies  in  their 
orbits, — the  annihilation  of  one  would  disperse  them  into 
chaos,  that  of  the  other  would  drag  them  to  a  consuming 
centre."' 

It  will  be  seen  from  this  description  why  the  American 
colonists  were  mostly  Whigs.  While  the  analogy  be- 
tween the  English  and  the  American  parties  cannot  be 
traced  throughout  our  national  history,  it  may  be  well  to 
keep  in  mind  this  general  distinction  between  the  radical 
and  the  conservative,  and  to  observe  how  the  distinction 
between  the  Whig  and  the  Tory  colored  the  politics  of 
the  Colonies  and  of  the  Revolution.  The  ruling  class  in 
the  Colonies,  their  governors  and  others  sent  out  by  royal 
appointment  to  govern  the  colonists,  and  those  with  large 
landed  interests,  were,  as  a  rule,  Tories ;  but  the  masses 
of  the  common  people,  the  small  home-owners 
of  2^^'""**^^  and  the  actual  tillers  of  the  soil,  the  immigrants 
Colonial  ^ho  wcrc  driven  by  hardships  to  find  new  homes 
in  the  new  world,  the  Puritan  and  Quaker  Eng- 
lish, the  Irish,  the  Scotch,  and  the  Scotch-Irish  Presby- 
terians, "poor,  vagrant,  and  adventurous  immigrants,'* 
as  Mr.  Lecky  calls  them,'  were  Whigs,  if  they  can  be  po- 
litically classified. 

During  the  Revolution  the  parties  were  called  Patriots 
and  Tories,  or  Whigs  and  Loyalists.  The  Loyalists,  or 
p  rte  of  Tories,  opposed  the  Revolution,  and  in  many 
the  cases  they  fought  on  the  side  of  Great  Britain. 

Revolution.  ^^^^  numbered  probably  one  third  of  the 
population.*    The  Loyalists  were,  as  a  rule,  the  men  of 

*  ConsHtutionalHistory  of  England.       *  American  Revolution,  p.  224. 
*John  Adams's  Works,  vol.  x.,  p.  87. 


Political  Parties  before  the  Constitution    9 

property  and  rank  who  had  most  to  lose  by  upheaval  and 
innovation,  the  men  of  culture  and  education  who  rather 
despised  the  Whigs.  Washington  was  one  of  the  few 
officers  of  the  American  Army  who  was  regarded  by  the 
Tories  as  a  gentleman  by  birth,  while  the  Continental 
Congress  was  continually  derided  as  a  body  of  "bank- 
rupt shopkeepers"  and  "word-spouting  cobblers  and 
tinkers,"  who  found  "mending  the  State  a  more  lucrative 
job  than  mending  kettles  and  patching  shoes."  * 

After  the  Revolution  and  the  complete  triumph  of  the 
Whigs,  or  Patriots,  nothing  of  the  Tory  party  remained 
in  America.     Those  of  its  members  who  had  ^^^^^^ 

not  gone  to  Halifax  or  to  other  English  settle-  Disappear 
ments  accepted  the  results  of  the  war;  and  "'^™*"*=** 
among  the  most  important  of  these  results  was  the  domi- 
nance of  republican  popular  government  in  America. 
All  the  people  were  now  Whigs.  Strictly  speaking,  the 
people  in  this  period  were  without  parties,  but  were  ready 
to  divide  into  opposing  parties  when  a  divisive  issue  arose. 

In  the  Constitutional  Convention  of  1787  we  observe 
this  new  party  division.     Wjth  the  division  in  this  CoiU- 
vention  begins  the  real  history  of  parties  in  the 
United    States.     There  were  many  points  of    ^'^clJS^ 
difference  and  conflicting  opinion  in  the  Con-  ^j°"^^ 

,  ,  1-1  ,  ,       ,       Convenuoh. 

vention :  but  the  one  which  was  most  constant, 
which  ran  through  a  large  part  of  the  debates,  was  the 
difference  between  the  Large  State  party  and  the  Small 
State  party,  between  those  who  wished  to  form 

,^      .  ,  ,1  1  .11    Large  states 

a  National  government  and  those  who  wished  vs.  smaii 
to  retain  a  purely  Confederate  government,  states,  the 
The  National  party,  composed  mostly  of  the  vs.  the 

representatives  from  the  large  States,  led  by    ^®p/jjf//^** 
Madison  of  Virginia,  Wilson  of  Pennsylvania, 
and  King  of  Massachusetts,  wished  to  form  a  government 

^  The  Outlook,  March  3,  1900,  article  on  "What  Social  Democracy 
Means." 


lo    Political  Parties  and  Party  Problems 

in  which  representation  according  to  population  should 
be  provided  for  in  both  Houses  of  Congress,  in  which  the 
controlling  power  should  be  vested  in  the  National 
Government.  Their  opponents  wished  the  supreme  power 
left  with  the  States.  The  States'  rights,  or  Federal, 
party  believed  that  the  Government  should  be  a  con- 
federation of  States,  that  the  States  should  be  the  source 
of  all  power,  that  the  Central  Government  was  to  be 
looked  to  as  merely  a  convenience  for  certain  general  con-, 
cerns.  These  conflicting  opinions  on  Nationalism  and 
Federalism  determined  a  member's  position  on  many  of 
the  questions  before  the  Convention.  The  Nationalists 
favored,  while  the  Federalists  opposed,     ' 

{a)  Proportional  representation, 

{b)  Popular  election  of  national  ofificers, 

{c)  The  subordination  of  the  States  to  the  nation,  and 
the  vesting  of  large  powers  in  the  central  federal  authority. 

The  fundamental  difference  was  whether  political  power 
should  be  drawn  from  the  States  as  such,  or  from  the 
people  directly.  Thus  the  question  of  proportional  rep- 
resentation, whether  power  should  be  exercised  in  pro- 
portion to  numbers,  struck  at  the  root  of  the  difference. 
If  the  National  party  had  its  way  power  would  then  rest, 
not  upon  the  States  as  such,  but  upon  the  people  of  the 
States  in  proportion  to  their  numbers. 

The  other  party,  composed  chiefly  of  the  delegates 
from  the  small  States,  led  by  Martin  of  Maryland,  Pater- 
son  of  New  Jersey,  Ellsworth  and  Johnson  of 
Confederate  Connccticut,  wished  to  have  a  government 
or  Small  which  would  provide  for  equal  State  represen- 
"  ^'  tation  in  both  Houses  of  Congress,  without 
reference  to  population.  This  idea  involved  a  purely 
confederate  government,  resting  upon  the  States,  draw- 
ing its  powers  and  resources  from  the  States.  There 
were  moderate  men  from  the  small  States  who  **were 
friends  to  a  good  National  Government,'*  but,  as  one  of 


Political  Parties  before  the  Constitution  n 

them  said,  they  **  would  sooner  submit  to  a  foreign  power 
than  submit  to  be  deprived  of  an  equality  of  suffrage  in 
both  branches  of  the  legislature."^  These  men,  as  we 
know,  forced  a  compromise,  so  that  the  Convention 
formed  neither  a  purely  national  nor  a  purely  federal 
government.  The  terms  that  would  most  nearly  de- 
scribe the  parties  of  the  Convention  would  be  National 
and  Federal^  for  on  other  questions  throughout  the  de- 
bates of  the  Convention  the  same  difference  is  to  be 
observed  as  is  seen  on  this  main  question  of  equal  or  pro- 
portional representation, — one  party  generally  favoring, 
the  other  opposing  the  grant  of  power  to  the  proposed 
new  Federal  Government.  When  the  Constitution  was 
adopted  by  the  Convention  and  submitted  to 

■i         c^  c  .-         .  .         .  ,  .,  Federalist 

the  States  for  ratification  or  rejection,  while  andAnti- 
it  was  not  entirely  satisfactory  to  the  Large  Federalist 
State,  or  National,  party,  it  was  more  satis- 
factory to  them  than  to  their  opponents,  and  they  be- 
came the  friends  and  advocates  of  the  Constitution  be- 
fore the  people  of  the  States.  They  took  the  name 
of  Ffderalistj  since  they  favored  union  under  the  new 
Federal  Constitution,  as  it  was  then  called.  Their  oppo- 
nents, though  they  claimed  to  be  true  Federalists,  were 
forced  to  take  the  name  of  Anti-Federalist y  a  term  which 
is  to  be  understood  as  describing  those  who  opposed  the 
adoption  by  the  States  of  the  new  Constitution.  Strictly, 
the  Federalist  party  might  have  been  called  National,  and 
the  Anti-Federalist  party  might  have  been  csXl^d  Federal- 
ist, as  these  terms  more  nearly  describe  the  ideas  for  which 
the  respective  parties  stood.  But  as  the  Anti-Federalists 
were  merely  in  opposition  to  the  proposal  then  before  the 
people,  they  are  known  merely  as  an  anti--^2ivty . 

As  the  questions  raised  and  discussed  in  the  Convention 
were  settled  by  the  adoption  of  the  Constitution,  these 
parties,  or  bodies  of  opinion,  were  too  short-lived  to  be 

*  Dickinson,  Madison's  Journal^  p.  163. 


12    Political  Parties  and  Party  Problems 

called  parties  properly.  Party  carries  with  it  the  idea 
of  continued  activity  over  a  considerable  period.  We 
should  notice,  then,  that  these  two  parties  represent 
merely  two  tendencies,  the  centrifugal  and  the  centripetal. 
The  Anti-Federal  party  stood  for  the  desire  to  maintain 
the  f reedonTof  the  individual  citizen  and  the  independence 
of  the  several  States.  The  members  of  this  party  thought 
that  the  Federal  Government,  with  large  central  powers, 
would  endanger  these  interests.  The  Federal  party,  on 
the  other  hand,  stood  for  the  opposite  tendency,  the  in- 
crease of  central  power.  Besides  the  extreme  States* 
rights  men  like  Lee,  Henry,  Clinton,  and  Lowndes,  the 
Anti-Federalists  were  made  up  of  those  who  had  favored 
paper-money  in  the  States,  who  believed  in  leniency,  if 
not  discrimination,  in  favor  of  debtors,  and  of  those  who 
believed  their  ambition  and  interests  could  best  be  grati- 
fied in  the  smaller  arena  of  State  affairs.  The  Anti- 
Federalists  would  have  succeeded  in  preventing  the 
adoption  of  the  Constitution  if  it  had  not  been  agreed 
that  certain  amendments  should  be  added, — a  ^*bill  of 
rights"  guaranteeing,  on  the  part  of  the  new  Central 
Government,  as  the  States  had  already  guaranteed,  the 
muniments  of  civil  liberty  to  the  citizen,  and  expressly 
reserving  to  the  States  all  powers  not  delegated  to  the 
Central  Government. 


CHAPTER  II 

THE     HAMILTONIAN     FEDERALISTS    AND    THE    JEFFER- 
SONIAN  REPUBLICANS,    1789-18OO 

AFTER  the  Constitution  was  adopted  and  Washington 
became  President,  the  conflicting  tendencies  observed 
in  the  struggles  over  the  adoption  of  the  Consti- 
tution reappeared.     The  parties  und^rJ^ash-        '  '"y^, 
ington  are  to  be  known  as  the  Federalist  and   Democratic- 

1         T-^  11-  ,  "»  , ,         ,    , .  Republican. 

the  Republican,  ^jometimes  the  latter  were 
called  by  their  opponents,  in  derision  and  reproach, 
Democrats,  and  the  hyphenated  word  Democratic-Rep:  I 
lican  was  also  used  to  designate  them.  It  is  often  sup- 
posed that  these  parties  are  identical  in  principle  and 
purpose  with  the  Federalists  and  the  Anti-Federalists  of 
a  few  years  before.  This  is  an  error.  To  be  a  Federalist 
in  1787  and  1788  was  to  favor  the  adoption  of  the  Con- 
stitution. To  be  a  States*  rights  Anti-Federalist  was  to 
oppose  that.  Madison  was  a  National-Federalist  with 
Hamilton  then.  But  to  be  a  Federalist  in  1791  was  to  fa- 
vor the  adoption  of  Hamilton's  financial  measures  and  a 
broad  construction  of  the  Constitution.  On  these  issues 
Madison  ceased  to  be  a  Federalist  with  Hamilton  and  be- 
came a  Republican  under  Jefferson.  Both  Jefferson  and 
Madison,  the  originators  and  organizers  of  the  Republican 
party,  favored  the  adoption  of  the  Constitution.  That 
is,  they  were  Federalists  in  1787.  But  they  opposed 
Hamilton's  financial  measures  and  broad  construction  of 

13 


14    Political  Parties  and  Party  Problems 

the  Constitution  and  joined  issue  with  the  Federalists  on 
other  measures  proposed  under  the  leadership  of  Hamil- 
ton. On  the  other  hand,  some  of  the  Anti-Federalists, 
like  Patrick  Henry,  who  had  opposed  the  adoption  of  the 
Constitution,  gave  their  adherence  to  Hamilton  and  his 
policy.  Yet  the  major  part  of  the  old  Anti-Federalists 
gave  their  support  to  the  Jeffersonian  Republicans,  and 
the  great  body  of  the  Federalists  who  did  battle  for  the 
Constitution  continued  to  be  Federalists  under  Washing- 
ton and  Hamilton.  In  its  underlying  principles  the  Anti- 
Federalist  party  was  the  forerunner  of  the  Jeffersonian 
Republicans. 
The  main  issues  separating  these  two  parties  from  1790 
to  1 801  were  as  follows: 
^**"**  lo    Hamilton's  financial  measures. — Hamil- 

between  the  ,      r         i •  i  i  1*1  t-        •      • 

Federalists     ton  s  fundmg  schcme,  by  which  no  discrimina- 
te** ,,.         tion  was  to  be  made  between  the  holders  of 

Republicans. 

X.  Hamilton's  government  securities,  but  by  which  all  classes 
Financial       -y^ere  to  be  paid  in  full  whether  speculators  who 

Measures.  ^  ^ 

had  bought  at  great  discount  or  original  holders 
who  had  held  at  great  sacrifice;  the  assumption  of  the 
State  debts  by  the  National  Government ;  the  scheme  of 
the  First  United  States  Bank ;  the_excise,  and  the  vigor- 
ous exercise  of  the  national  authority  in  its  collection,  as 
also  the  suppression  of  the  "Whiskey  Rebellion,"  all 
these  measures  the  Hamiltonian  Federalists  favored  while 
the  Jeffersonian  Republicans  opposed  them. 
2.  Questions  of  foreign  policy : 
Refa°ioM°:  W  The  war  between  France  and  England, 

a.  Franco-  Xhe  Federalists  were  the  friends  of  England, 
°^  *^  ^^'  the  Republicans,  of  France.  The  Federalists, 
as  the  party  of  law  and  order  and  of  established  gov- 
ernment, were  shocked  at  the  outrages  and  excesses 
of  the  **  Reign  of  Terror"  in  France,  and  they  thought 
it  most  important  to  restrain  the  democratic  excesses 
promoted  by  the  French   Revolution.      They  therefore 


Federalists  and  Republicans  15 

counselled  neutrality  in  the  war  which  France  had  de- 
clared against  Great  Britain.  The  Republicans,  as  the 
party  of  liberty  and  the  rights  of  man,  looked  with 
more  leniency  upon  the  French  excesses  as  necessary 
accompaniments  of  a  struggle  of  a  people  to  be  free. 
Jefferson  thought  a  little  revolution  or  resistance  now 
and  then  was  a  good  thing,  to  keep  governments  in  order 
and  to  remind  them  of  the  rights  of  the  governed.  Party 
spirit  ran  high  on  this  Franco- English  war,  so  much  so 
that  one  party,  the  Federalists,  was  called  the  English 
party,  while  the  Republicans  were  called  the  French 
party.  A  Spanish  traveller  remarked  that  there  were  to 
be  found  in  America  many  Englishmen  and  many  French- 
men but,  unfortunately,  there  were  no  Americans.  The 
Republicans  organized  secret  democratic  clubs  in  the 
cities,  modelled  after  the  Jacobin  Clubs  of  France,  and  if 
they  could  have  had  their  way  we  should  have  been  em- 
broiled in  a  war  with  England.  On  the  other  hand,  the 
Federalists,  led  by  Hamilton,  were  ready  to  have  us 
break  our  French  alliance  of  1778  in  such  a  way  as  would 
have  led  to  a  breach  with  France.  Washington  held  to 
a  moderate  and  fair  course  and  issued  his  proclamation 
of  neutrality,  a  policy  which  was  favored  by  both  Hamil- 
ton and  Jefferson,  though  from  different  inclinations  and 
motives. 

{b)  This  difference  of  attitude  toward  France  and  Great 
Britain  led  to  a  party  issue  over  Jay's  Treaty.  The 
Federalists  favored  the  treaty,  as  it  enabled  ^  ,^ 
us  to  maintain  a  friendly  relation  with  Great  Treaty  as 
Britain,  while  the  Republicans  opposed  it  be-  *"  '^^"** 
cause,  as  they  thought,  it  sacrificed  our  interests  and  did 
not  maintain  a  proper  spirit  of  independence  toward 
England. 

B  3.  The  Federalists  favored,  while  the  Republicans  re- 
sisted, the  increase  of  governmental  authority  by  the  na- 
tion.    The  Republicans  opposed  the  increase  of  executive 


1 6    Political  Parties  and  Party  Problems 

authority  at  the  expense  of  legislative  control,  as  well 
as  the  increase  of  national  authority  at  the  expense 
of  State  control.  Their  desire  was  to  keep 
and  Execu-  power  close  to  the  people,  and  they  therefore 
tive  Author-   insisted  upon  a  Federal  system  in  which  the 

ity  vs. 

State  and       greater  power  should  rest  with  the  States;  and 
Congressional  in    the    exercise    of   central  authority   power 

Authority.  11,,.  ,  .  ■,       ^  ^     ^ 

should  lie  rather  with  the  representatives  of 
the  people  in  Congress  than  with  the  President,  who 
stood  for  the  monarchical  element  in  the  State. 

This  is  seen  in  the  contest  over  the  Jay  Treaty.  The 
Republicans  believed  that  Hamilton  sought  to  incorpo- 
rate in  a  treaty  provisions  as  to  the  regulations  of  com- 
merce (a  subject  committed  by  the  Constitution  to  both 
branches  of  Congress)  that  he  knew  would  not  be  enacted 
into  law  by  the  popular  branch  of  the  National  Legis- 
lature. He,  therefore,  took  a  more  convenient  method 
of  securing  this  legislation — merely  by  the  co-operation 
of  the  President  and  Senate.  The  Republicans  insisted 
on  the  right  of  the  popular  branch  of  Congress  to  prevent 
this  exercise  of  power  on  matters  committed  to  the  repre- 
sentatives of  all  the  people. 

The  Republicans  insisted  that  the  interests  of  the 
people  would  be  better  cared  for  and  republican  govern- 
ment better  promoted  by  retaining  power  within  the 
States  and  the  subdivisions  of  the  States.  They  there- 
fore urged  the  importance  of  local  self-government  as 
against  the  increase  of  national  powers  and  functions. 
Jefferson  asserted  that  he  would  preserve  both  the  Gen- 
eral and  State  governments  in  their  constitutional  form 
and  equilibrium :  he  would  observe  sharply  the  line  be- 
tween them,  but  in  doing  so  he  would  draw  that  line  so 
as  to  limit  the  powers  of  the  Nation  while  enlarging  the 
functions  of  the  State.  ** Encroachments,'*  he  said,  "are 
more  to  be  feared  from  the  General  Government.  En- 
croachments from  the  State  governments  will  tend  to  an 


Federalists  and  Republicans  i/ 

excess  of  liberty  which  will  correct  itself;  while  those 
from  the  General  Government  will  tend  to  monarchy 
which  will  fortify  itself  from  day  to  day  instead  of  work- 
ing its  own  cure,  as  all  experience  shows."  *  Later,  writ- 
ing upon  the  importance  of  local  self-government  and  the 
issue  of  States'  rights  as  against  national  power  Jefferson 
said: 

"Were  not  this  great  country  already  divided  into  States, 
that  division  must  be  made  that  each  might  do  for  itself  what 
concerns  itself  directly,  and  what  it  can  so  much  better  do  than 
a  distant  authority.  Every  State  again  is  divided  into  counties, 
each  to  take  care  of  what  lies  within  its  local  bounds;  each 
county  again  into  townships,  or  wards,  to  manage  minuter  de- 
tails; and  every  ward  into  farms,  to  be  governed  each  by  its 
individual  proprietor.  Were  we  directed  from  Washington 
when  to  sow  and  when  to  reap  we  should  soon  want  bread."  * 

4.  From  what  has  been  said  it  will  be  seen  that  under- 
lying these  differences  on  practical  policies  and  measures 
proposed  by  Hamilton  and  the  Federalists,  or 
growing  out  of  them,  were  differences  of  view  interpretation  \ 
as   to  the   construction   of   the   Constitution.  °^^^^ 

_,      ,  .  1        ITT      1  •  11   Constitution. 

Both  parties  under  Washmgton  accepted  and 
professed  to  venerate  the  Constitution.  Both  appealed 
to  the  Constitution  for  support.  The  difference  between 
them  was  a  difference  of  construction.  The  Federalists 
favored  a  construction  of  the  Constitution  which  allowed 
large  power  to  the  Federal  Government,  while  the  Re- 
publicans favored  a  construction  which  tended  to  restrict 
that  power.  The  Federalists  were  broad  and  liberal — 
the  Republicans  called  them  loose — in  construing  the 
powers  conferred  upon  the  Federal  Government.  The 
Republicans  were   strict  —  the   Federalists   called   them 

*  Jefferson  to  Stuart,  December  23,  1791.  Randall's  Jefferson^  vol.  ii., 
P-  23. 

*  Jefferson's  Autobiography,  vol.  i.,  p.  68,  Ford's  edition. 

3 


i^    Political  Parties  and  Party  Problems 


!^fi 


narrow — in  construing  the  national  powers.  Many  Re- 
publicans, in  fact,  were  so  strict,  Jefferson  among  them, 
that  they  would  have  reduced  the  Federal  Government 
to  a  department  for  foreign  affairs. 

This  difference  between  the  parties  in  the  construction 
%f  the  Constitution  is  to  be  seen  in  the  Federalist  legis- 
TheVir  inia  ^^^^^^  ^^  ^79^^  the  Alien  and  Sedition  Acts, 
and  Kentucky  and  in  the  Virginia  and  Kentucky  Resolutions 
Resolutions.  ^£  ^j^^  Republicans,  by  which  these  measures 
were  opposed.  In  resisting  these  Federalist  measures 
Jefferson  and  Madison  in  their  resolutions  fell  back  upon 
a  strict  construction  of  the  Constitution,  denying  that  the 
Federal  Government  could  be  the  judge  of  the  extent  of 
its  own  powers,  and  denying  that  it  had  a  right  to  punish 
any  crimes  other  than  those  specifically  mentioned  in  the 
Constitution. 

In  addition  to  setting  forth  an  important  constitu- 
tional doctrine,  these  resolutions  were  designed  to  direct 
attention  to  the  assumptions  of  national  power  and  to 
the  alarming  nature  of  Federalist  legislation.  The  Vir- 
ginia and  Kentucky  Resolutions  were,  in  one  sense,  the 
first  party  platform  ever  published  in  America,  and  they 
were  prepared  by  Madison  and  Jefferson,  the  leaders 
of  the  Republican  party,  as  a  constitutional  defence  of 
the  State  and  the  citizen.  "The  friendless  alien  had,  in- 
deed, been  selected  as  the  safest  subject  of  a  first  experi- 
ment, but  the  citizen  will  soon  follow  as  the  prey  and 
victim  of  governmental  power."*  Such  was  Jefferson's 
representation  of  the  purpose  of  the  Federalists. 

5.  These  differences  on  policies  and  constitutional  con- 
struction indicate  a  still  more  fundamental  difference  be- 
tween the  parties,  a  difference  based  on  the  character 
of  men  and  their  attitude  toward  the  functions  of  govern- 

*  Kentucky  Resolutions,  art.  ix.  .See  p.  75  in  the  author's  TAe  Ameri- 
can Republic  and  Its  Government^  for  the  constitutional  doctrine  set  forth 
in  these  Resolutions. 


Federalists  and  Republicans  19 

ment  and  the  nature  of  the  State.  The  difference  is 
between  those  who  are  the  advocates  of  power  for  the 
defence  of  order,  the  preservation  of  the  rights  of  prop- 
erty, and  the  promotion  of  enterprises,  and  ^^  Difference* 
those,  on  the  other  hand,  who  are  devotees        as  to  the 

......  1  Functions  and 

of  hberty  in  resistance  to  tyranny  and  gov-  sphere  of 
ernmental  interference.  Jefferson  declared  Government, 
that  the  Alien  and  Sedition  Acts  and  other  acts  of  those 
in  power  had  a  tendency  to  drive  the  people  of  the  States 
into  revolution  and  blood,  and  that  they  would  thus  fur- 
nish 

"new  calumnies  against  republican  government  and  new  pre- 
texts for  those  who  wish  it  to  be  believed  that  man  cannot  be 
governed  but  by  a  rod  of  iron ;  that  it  would  be  a  dangerous 
delusion  if  a  confidence  in  the  men  of  our  choice  were  to  silence 
our  fears  for  the  safety  of  our  rights ;  that  confidence  is  every- 
where the  parent  of  despotism ;  free  government  is  founded  in 
jealousy  and  not  in  confidence;  it  is  jealousy  and  not  confi- 
dence which  prescribes  limited  constitutions  to  bind  down 
those  whom  we  are  obliged  to  trust  with  power.  * '  * 

Here  Jefferson  expresses  very  clearly  the  difference  be- 
tween the  early  parties  in  their  attitude  toward  govern- 
ment. One  looked  with  favor  and  confidence  on  the 
increase  and  exercise  of  governmental  powers ;  the  other 
regarded  government  with  jealousy  and  would  as  much 
as  possible  limit  its  authority  in  restraint  of  the  people. 
One  party  were  the  advocates  of  power,  the  other  the 
lovers  of  freedom.  Jefferson  and  his  party  were  demo- 
cratic and  they  wished  their  government  and  its  agents 
to  be  kept  in  close  touch  with  the  people  and  easily  con- 
trolled by  the  people.  This  accounts,  in  part,  for  their 
opposition  to  Hamilton's  financial  policy.  They  knew 
that   policy   was    designed    to    strengthen    the    Federal 

*  Kentucky  Resolutions,  1798,  art.  ix. 


I- 


20    Political  Parties  and  Party  Problems 

Government  over  which  the  people  had  remote  control, 
and  to  weaken  the  State  Government  over  which  the  people' 
had  direct  control,  and  that  Hamilton's  policy  would 
foster  a  moneyed  aristocracy  and  make  the  moneyed  class 
a  permanent  ally  of  the  National  Government.  As  true 
democrats  the  Jeffersonian  Republicans  opposed  this. 
They  wished  to  revive  and  advance  the  republican  spirit 
that  had  produced  the  American  and  French  Revolutions, 
to  oppose  class  rule  and  class  privilege,  and  to  make  the 
Government  a  government  of  the  people.  It  has  been 
said  that  Hamilton,  contending  for  power,  would  make 
the  Union  great  and  glorious,  and  that  Jefferson,  con- 
tending for  liberty,  would  make  every  citizen  strong  and 
free.'  To  accomplish  his  great  purpose,  Jefferson  would 
provide  a  school  of  politics  for  every  citizen  in  local  self- 
government,  in  the  discussion  and  control  of  public  affairs 
in  township  and  school  district. 

In  these  two  differences, — in  constitutional  construction 
and  in  the  differing  attitudes  of  the  two  parties  toward 
The  government  and  liberty, — writers  have  found 

Continuing  the  "continuing  basis  of  division"  between  the 
Division  tw^  great  historic  parties  in  America.  One 
between  party,  known  by  its  several  names.  Federalist, 
Whig,  Republican,  has  favored  broad  construc- 


ion,  the  growth  of  national  power,  increasing  functions 
of  government,  the  larger  exercise  of  force  and  au- 
thority in  restraint  of  social  disorders.  The  other 
party,  under  its  various  names,  Anti-Federalist,  Demo- 
cratic-Republican, Democratic,  has  held  to  strict  con- 
struction, the  rights  of  the  States,  the  largest  degree  of 
individual  and  social  liberty,  without  annoyances  from 
government.  The  one  of  these  parties  has  been  called 
the  party  of  political  measures  y  the  other  the  party  of  po- 
litical principles.     The  one,  the  Federalist-Whig-Repub- 

*  See  a  suggestive  article  by  Professor  A.  D.  Morse  on  **  The  Significance 
of  the  Democratic  Party,"  in  the  International  Monthly  for  October,  1900. 


Federalists  and  Republicans  21 

lican,  were  the  advocates  of  governmental  schemes  and 
projects,  the  financial  plans  of  Hamilton,  the  excise,  the 
Alien  and  Sedition  Acts,  the  protective  policy,  internal 
improvements.  Congressional  restraint  of  slavery,  ener-  ; 
getic  measures  in  prosecution  of  the  Civil  War,  and  Con- 
gressional Reconstruction.  The  other  party,  from  its 
principles  of  attachment  to  individual  liberty  and  con- 
stitutional restraint  on  government,  has  usually  opposed 
these  measures  in  the  purpose  of  preventing  government 
from  attempting  too  many  things  on  behalf  of  the  people 
and  for  the  purpose  of  preventing  objectionable  measures 
urged  on  behalf  of  special  and  powerful  interests. 

While  it  is  generally  true  that  the  Federalists,  Whigs, 
and  Republicans  have  been  the  advocates  of  broad  con- 
struction, of  the  exercise  of  authority,  and  the  increase 
of  national  power,  the  generalization  will  not  uniformly 
hold.  There  have  been  times  when  the  reverse  has  been 
the  case.  While  the  Federalists  generally  favored  a  lib- 
eral construction  of  the  Constitution  as  favorable  to  the 
enlargement  of  national  power,  yet,  while  out  of  pQwer, 
under   Jefferson   and    Madison,  prompted   by  "^ 

,.,,.  ,  .,,T-  Parties  out  of   \ 

their  local  mterests,  they  resisted  the  Execu-    Power  Tend  | 
tive  and  Congress,  and  ure^ed,  under  the  States*  toward  strict  I 

.    ,  ^  .  r      1       V-  .         .  i         Construction.    ^ 

rights  compact  view  of  the  Constitution,  that 
the  acts  of  the  administration  were  unconstitutional. 
On  the  other  hand,  the  Democratic-Republicans,  when 
they  came  into  power  under  Jefferson,  began  to  stretch 
the  Constitution  to  cover  the  exercise  of  powers  which 
they  had  previously  denied.  They  did  this  to  such  an 
extent  that  they  nationalized  their  own  party  and 
effectually  killed  the  Federalist  party  as  a  party  of 
opposition.  Marshall  said  that  Jefferson  killed  the  Fed- 
eralist party  by  adopting  its  principles.  Thus  it  is,  party 
experience  has  gone  to  show,  that  in  large  measure  the 
ins  have  been  inclined  to  broad  construction  and  the  en- 
largement of  national  authority,  and  the  outs  to  strict 


22    Political  Parties  and  Party  Problems 

construction  and  the  restriction  of  that  authority.  Each 
party  has,  in  its  turn,  fallen  back  upon  the  rights  and 
powers  of  the  States  to  preserve  its  interests  from  the 
political  measures  of  its  opponents  while  these  were  in 
control  of  the  national  administration.  In  the  purchase 
of  Louisiana,  Jefferson  attempted  to  preserve  his  con- 
sistency by  acknowledging  that  the  purchase  was  uncon- 
stitutional on  the  theory  of  strict  construction,  but  he 
claimed  that,  like  a  guardian  for  a  ward,  he  was  justified 
in  making  the  purchase  in  contravention  of  the  Constitu- 
tion with  the  expectation  of  having  his  action  endorsed 
by  a  subsequent  amendment.  But,  rejecting  this  view, 
the  Republican  leaders  in  Congress  accommodated  them- 
selves to  a  constitutional  doctrine  more  liberal  than  they 
were  disposed  to  assert  while  they  were  out  of  power, — 
a  doctrine  that  enabled  them  to  vote  for  the  purchase 
of  Louisiana  as  constitutional.  On  the  other  hand,  the 
Federalists,  now  in  opposition,  resisted  this  purchase  as 
unconstitutional.  Josiah  Quincy,  a  Federalist  leader, 
resisted  the  admission  of  Louisiana  in  1811  as  a  violation 
of  the  "compact"  between  the  States  such  as  would 
justify  secession  and  revolution;  the  admission  of  Louisi- 
ana, he  said,  would  be  the  dissolution  of  the  Union,  and 
it  would  be  the  right  and  duty  of  the  States  to  prepare 
for  separation,  **  amicably  if  they  can,  forcibly  if  they 
must."^  The  Federalists  also  resisted  as  unconstitu- 
tional the  Non-Importation  and  Embargo  Acts,  in  1807 
and  1809,  and  they  carried  their  factious  opposition  to 
the  War  of  181 2  almost  to  the  verge  of  secession  in  18 14. 
Again,  between  1850  and  i860,  when  the  States*  rights 
Democracy  of  the  South,  being  in  power,  called  into  ex- 
ercise the  power  of  the  National  Government  within  the 
States  for  the  recovery  of  fugitive  slaves,  the  Republican 
leaders  like  Sumner  and  Wade  fell  back  on  the  reserved 

'  Speech  of  Josiah  Quincy,  Johnston  and  Woodburn's  American  Orations^ 
vol.  i.,  p.  182. 


Federalists  and  Republicans  23 

rights  of  the  States,  and  the  compact  principle  in  the 
Constitution,  in  resistance  to  this  exercise  of  national 
authority.  Wade  and  Sumner  did  not  deny,  as  Quincy 
did,  that  the  Constitution  was  a  national  instrument,  but 
they  insisted  that  the  fugitive  slave  clause  was  a  "com- 
pact "  clause,  not  a  power-conferring  clause,  and  they 
asserted  that  its  enforcement  was  a  matter  of  inter-State 
right  and  comity.*  It  will  be  seen  that  the  general  state- 
ments to  which  we  have  referred  as  to  the  permanent 
and  continuing  differences  between  parties,  cannot  be  ac- 
cepted without  qualification. 

Coming  again  to  the  Hamiltonian  Federalists  and  the 
Jeffersonian  Republicans,  we  are  aided  in  understanding 
the  differences  between  these  parties  by  notic- 
ing what  they  thought  of  one  another.  The  Early  Parties 
Federalists,  regarding  themselves  as  the  cham-  Thought  of 
pions  of  order  and  the  upholders  of  law,  looked 
upon  Jefferson  and  the  Republicans  as  anarchists  and  re- 
pudiators ;  as  the  enemies  of  property,  of  society,  and  of 
vested  rights.  The  Federalists  were  afraid  of  social  up- 
heaval and  convulsion.  It  was  for  this  reason  that  they 
looked  to  the  Constitution  as  a  means  of  promoting  a 
strong  and  energetic  government  for  the  defence  of  the 
rights  of  property.  In  Federalists*  eyes  democracy  was 
the  bane  of  the  country,  and  the  radical,  French,  demo- 
cratic views  of  Jefferson  seemed  altogether  revolutionary, 
and,  consequently,  the  Federalists  were  brought  more 
and  more  to  believe  in  the  need  of  stringent  measures. 
"Fears  of  French  Jacobinism  almost  created  a  panic 
among  the  staid  New  England  Federalists.  Frenzied 
mobs,  universal  license,  atheism,  communism, —  these 
bogies  terrified  the  conservative,  easy-going  Puritans  as 
if  all  they  held  dear  were  to  be  engulfed. ' ' '     Marshall, 

*  See  the  speeches  of  Wade,  1854,  of  Sumner  on  the  Fugitive  Slave  Law, 
1852,  and  the  case  of  Ableman  vs.  Booth. 
'  H.  C.  Lodge's  Life  o/Qfqrg^  Cabot. 


24    Political  Parties  and  Party  Problems 

speaking  for  the  moderate  Federalists/  said  that  that 
party  desired  no  stronger  government  than  the  Consti- 
tution allowed,  or  than  was  necessary  to  security ;  that 
Hamilton's  treasury  schemes  were  sound  and  salutary, 
and  that  Republican  opposition  to  them  originated  in  a 
desire  to  avoid  the  payment  of  the  public  debt,  in  a  dislike 
of  the  restraints  indispensable  to  good  order,  and  in  the 
narrow  and  unprincipled  ambition  of  local  demagogues, 
and  in  a  desire  for  the  "loaves  and  fishes"  of  political 
power ;  that  the  Federalists  were  but  a  moderate  and  truly 
republican  party,  and  the  **  representations  of  their  op- 
ponents to  the  contrary  were  but  pretences  fabricated  by 
demagogues  or  mad  enthusiasts  and  addressed  to  the 
passions  and  prejudices  of  ignorant  mobs." ' 

On  the  other  hand,  the  Republicans,  regarding  them- 
selves as  the  friends  of  liberty  and  the  rights  of  man, 
looked  upon  the  Federalists  as  *  *  monarchists ' '  who  were 
ready  to  subvert  the  Constitution  and  "administration  " 
the  government  into  whatever  they  wished  to  make  it. 
The  contest,  according  to  Jefferson,  was  between  the  ad- 
vocates of  republicanism  and  the  advocates  of  kingly 
government.  According  to  the  Republicans,  the  Fed- 
eralists wished  to  revive  royalty  and  nobility  by  assuming 
high-sounding  titles,  by  observing  stately  and  dignified 
ceremonies,  by  setting  up  a  splendid  government,  and 
thus,  by  parade  and  splendid  pageantry,  after  the  man- 
ner of  kings,  they  would  dazzle,  or  "razzle-dazzle,"  the 
people,  and  a  ruling  class  would  be  recognized  such  as 
England  had  always  maintained.  All  this  meant  social 
ranks  and  special  privileges  established  by  law,  parapher- 
nalia of  office,  official  levees,  large  civil  and  military  estab- 
lishments, navies,  armies,  extravagance,  and  burdensome 
taxes.  The  result  would  be  the  oppression  of  the  peo- 
ple.    A  privileged  few  would  continue  to  lord  it  over 

*  Life  of  Washington. 

*  Randall's  Life  of  Jefferson,  vol,  U.,  pp.  37-39. 


Federalists  and  Republicans  25 

the  masses  of  their  fellow  men.  Against  all  these  things 
Jefferson  set  his  face.  His  party,  therefore,  opposed  the 
extension,  or  perpetuation,  of  a  public  debt;  they  op- 
posed large  expenditures  of  the  public  money;  a  large 
army  or  a  large  navy ;  the  exercise  of  governmental  func- 
tions for  private  interests  or  enterprises;  and,  looking 
upon  the  Judiciary  as  being  far  removed  from  popular 
control  and  as  inimical  to  popular  interests,  they  opposed 
life  tenures  for  judicial  offices.  To  the  Jeffersonian  Re- 
publicans "government  by  injunction  "  would  have  been 
a  terror.  Jefferson,  having  witnessed  great  evils  under  a 
despotic  government,  and  having  an  optimistic  confidence 
in  the  masses  of  men,  believed  that  the  people  would 
take  care  of  themselves  without  governmental  interfer- 
ence. Hamilton,  in  the  more  pessimistic  faith  that  men 
were  to  be  governed  only  by  force  or  by  appeals  to  their 
material  interests,  believed  that  agencies  of  government 
should  be  multiplied  and  strengthened  to  keep  men  in 
order. 

Of  the  constituencies  of  these  two  parties,  Mr.  Bryce 
says: 

"The  small  farmers  and  Southern  men  generally  followed  the 
Republican  standard,  following  the  lead  of  Virginia,  while  the 
strength  of  the  Federalists  lay  in  New  England  and 
the  Middle  States,  led  sometimes  by  Massachusetts,     ^'  the'con"  / 
sometimes  by  Pennsylvania.     The  commercial  in-  stituencies  of  | 
terests  were  with  the  Federalists  and  the  staid  solid       ^^partlel^ 
Puritanism  of  all  classes,  headed  by  the  clergy. 
Some  one  has  described  the  struggle  from  1796  to  1808  as  one 
between  Jefferson,  an  avowed  free-thinker,  and  the  New  Eng- 
land ministers.    The  revolt  of  New  England  Puritanism  against 
the  supposed  atheism  of  the  French  Revolution,  and  the  desire 
of  the  New  England  shippers  and  merchants  for  a  Central  Gov- 
ernment strong  enough  to  make  and  enforce  treaties  with  other 
commercial  countries,  the  desire  for  a  uniform  currency  and  a 
strong  government  able  to  command  order  and  enforce  law, — 


26    Political  Parties  and  Party  Problems 

these  were  the  forces  behind  and  in  support  of  the  Federalists. 
.  .  Jefferson's  importance  lies  in  the  fact  that  he  be- 
came the  representative  not  merely  of  democracy,  but  of  local 
democracy ;  of  the  notion  that  government  is  hardly  wanted  at 
all,  that  the  people  are  sure  to  go  right  if  they  are  left  alone; 
that  he  who  resists  authority  \?,  prima  facie  justified  in  doing  so 
because  authority  is  prima  facie  tyrannical;  that  a  country 
where  each  local  body  in  its  own  local  area  looks  after  the 
objects  of  common  concern,  raising  and  administering  such 
funds  as  are  needed,  and  is  interfered  with  as  little  as  possible 
by  any  external  power,  comes  nearest  to  the  ideal  of  a  truly 
free  people."  ' 

A  distinction  has  been  drawn  between  Jefferson's 
national  democracy  and  his  States*  rights  republicanism. 
Jefferson's  Jeffcrson  was  both  a  States'  rights  Republican 
Democracy  ^^^  ^  National  Democrat,  but  his  national  de- 
and  his  mocracy  was  the  stronger  force  of  the  two.     As 

Re*pubiican-  ^^  Southem  Republican  he  represented  republi- 
ism-  canism  as  opposed  to  monarchy ;  as  a  National 

Democrat  he  represented  republicanism  as  opposed 
to  oligarchy.  He  was  not  a  Social  Democrat,  and 
was  called  one  merely  as  a  term  of  reproach  and  oppro- 
brium. His  Northern  followers  were  mostly  Democrats, 
the  levellers  of  rank  and  the  advocates  of  equal  oppor- 
tunities.' Political  democracy  was  Jefferson's  great 
desire,  that  government  should  be  of,  by,  and  for  the 
people;  that  there  should  be  equal  rights  for  all  and 
special  privileges  for  none.  This  was  the  end  he  had  in 
view.  Retaining  large  rights  and  powers  to  the  States 
was  the  means  he  would  employ.  When,  therefore,  the 
National  Government  was  democratized,  after  it  was 
saved  from  kingcraft  by  the  people's  entrusting  power  to 
the  Jeffersonian  democracy;  when  it  was  seen  that  the 
National  Government  could  be  used  as  an  instrument  to 

*  Bryce,  American  Commonwealth,  vol.  ii.,  p.  9. 

'  See  Adams's  History  of  the  United  States,  vol.  i. ,  pp.  162  and  209. 


Federalists  and  Republicans  27 

promote  great  popular  interests  under  the  management 
of  popular  representative  leaders,  it  was  inevitable  that 
national  powers  should  increase  at  the  expense  of  the 
rights  of  the  States.  This  was  what  occurred  in  Jeffer- 
son's administration.  Jefferson  himself  promoted  this 
movement,  urged  by  forces  within  his  party.  Many 
small  farmers  at  the  North,  and  many  recent  immigrants 
and  middle-class  tradesmen,  were  not  wedded  to  Jeffer- 
son's Kentucky  views  as  to  the  rights  of  the  States  and 
the  limitations  on  national  power;  but  they  were  Dem- 
ocrats who  believed  in  manhood  suffrage  and  in  equal 
opportunities  for  all,  and  they  supported  Jefferson  as 
the  champion  of  national  democracy.  Under  Jefferson's 
leadership,  this  democratic  element  at  the  North  was 
brought  into  alliance  with  the  aristocratic  planters  of  the 
South,  the  true  States*  rights  Republicans,  like  John  Ran- 
dolph, of  Roanoke,  and  other  slave  masters  who  despised 
the  free  common  laborer  as  a  "mudsill."  That  choppers 
and  fishermen  should  constitute  the  state  was  very  far 
from  the  thought  of  the  blue-blooded  aristocrats  of  Vir- 
ginia and  the  Carolinas.  But  Jefferson's  doctrines  pro- 
moted democracy,  and  he  looked  to  States'  rights  and 
local  self-government  as  a  means  of  promoting  the  demo- 
cratic cause.  When  the  cause  of  national  democracy 
came  in  conflict  with  the  reserved  powers  of  the  States, 
Jefferson's  exercise  of  national  powers  for  the  promotion 
of  popular  interests  proved  his  national  democracy  to  be 
stronger  than  his  States'  rights  republicanism. 

The  fall  of  the  Federalists,  in  1800,  marks  a  revolution 
in  party  history.     The  Republican  masses  led  by  Jeffer- 
son overcame  the  ruling  classes  led  by  Hamil- 
ton and  Adams.     The  result  came  about  from    *Fa*iiofthe 

various  causes  :  Federalists, 

I.  The  dissensions  and  jealousies  within  the 
Federalist    party. —  Hamilton  and   Adams   had   become 
irreconcilable,  and  Hamilton  attacked  his  official  party 


28    Political  Parties  and  Party  Problems 

chief  in  an  indiscreet  and  abusive  political  pamphlet. 
Most  of  the  distinguished  men  of  the  nation  were  within 
the  ranks  of  the  Federalists.  The  party's  strength  lay, 
not  in  its  popular  following,  but  in  the  ability  of  its 
leaders.  Hamilton  was  a  leader  of  leaders,  but  he  was 
not  a  leader  of  the  people ;  and  John  Adams,  a  first-rate 
man,  when  elected  to  the  official  leadership  of  the  party 
would  not  take  a  second  place  within  his  own  administra- 
tion beside  any  man.  Adams  could  not  brook  Hamilton's 
imperious  dictation.  When  these  feuds  broke  out  among 
the  Federalist  leaders  the  party  fell  to  rise  no  more. 

2.  Certain  measures  of  Adams's  administration  alienated 
support. — The  act  imposing  duties  on  stamped  paper 
and  vellum,  the  naturalization  act,  increasing  the  time 
required  for  naturalization  from  five  years  to  fourteen; 
the  alien  and  sedition  acts ;  a  bill  increasing  the  army  and 
navy;  certain  excise  taxes, —  these  measures  Jefferson 
used  effectually  to  rally  support  to  the  opposition. 

3.  Adams's  personal  unpopularity  repelled  many  sup- 
porters. He  was  cold  in  temper,  suspicious  in  nature, 
and  had  an  excessive  sense  of  his  own  official  dignity  and 
importance.  His  lack  of  tact  and  of  the  politician's  art 
contributed  to  his  defeat. 

4.  On  the  other  hand,  Jefferson  was  a  master  of  tactful 
political  leadership,  and  his  organizing  power,  by  which  he 
brought  together  into  one  party  the  democratic  element 
of  the  country,  both  local  and  national,  was  one  of  the 
important  factors  in  the  triumph  of  his  party  in  i8cx). 

5.  The  country  was,  in  its  spirit  and  constituency,  es- 
sentially democratic.  There  was  an  intense  feeling  of  op- 
position to  royalty,  kingly  forms,  and  class  government. 
Jefferson  played  cleverly  and  effectually  upon  these  feel- 
ings and  prejudices.  The  revolutions  in  America  and 
France  had  aroused  a  strong  democratic  impulse  through- 
out Europe  and  America.  This  was  especially  strong 
among  the  recent  immigrants  and  the  middle-class  Ameri- 


Federalists  and  Republicans  29 

cans.  Consequently,  the  "mercantile  and  manufacturing 
classes,  with  all  the  advantage  of  their  wealth  and  intelli- 
gence and  habit  of  co-operation,  were  yet  vanquished  by 
the  agricultural  masses."  ' 

When  the  Republican  party  came  into  power,  in  1801, 
their  great  leader,  who,  take  him  all  in  all,  was  the  most 
influential  and  most  masterful  personal  factor  that  has 
ever  appeared  in  American  politics,  published  in  his  first 
inaugural  address  a  state  paper  which  ranks  second  only 
to  the  Declaration  of  Independence.  This  address  sums 
up  more  than  any  other  state  paper  the  permanent  plat- 
form of  Jefferson's  historic  party.  It  became  a  standard 
by  which  "all  future  political  movements  were  to  be 
measured,  and  it  went  out  of  fashion  only  when  its  prin- 
ciples were  universally  accepted  or  thrown  aside.""  In 
this  historic  address,  Jefferson  attempted  to  compress  the 
principles  of  his  party  within  the  narrowest  possible 
compass : 

"  Equal  and  exact  justice  to  all  men,  of  whatever  state  or 
persuasion,  religious  or  political;  peace,  commerce,  and  honest 
friendship    with   all  nations,   entangling   alliances 

.  ,  ,  r   \        r.  Principles  of 

With  none;  the  support  of  the  State  governments  jeffersonian 
in  all  their  rights  as  the  most  competent  admin-  Repubiican- 
istrations  of  our  domestic  concerns,  and  the  surest  ""* 

bulwarks  against  anti-republican  tendencies;  the  preserva- 
tion of  the  general  government  in  its  whole  constitutional 
vigor,  as  the  sheet  anchor  of  our  peace  at  home  and  our  safety 
abroad;  a  jealous  care  of  the  right  of  election  by  the  people, — 
a  mild  and  safe  corrective  of  abuses  which  are  lopped  by  the 
sword  of  revolution  where  peaceable  remedies  are  unprovided ; 
absolute  acquiescence  in  the  decisions  of  the  majority, — the 
vital  principle  of  Republics,  from  which  there  is  no  appeal  but 
to  force,  the  vital  principle  and  immediate  parent  of  despotism ; 
a  well-disciplined  militia, — our  best  reliance  iif  peace  and  for 

*  Bryce,  vol.  ii. 

'  Adams's  History  of  the  United  States,  vol.  i.,  p.  199. 


30    Political  Parties  and  Party  Problems 

the  first  moments  of  war,  till  regulars  may  relieve  them;  the 
supremacy  of  the  civil  over  the  military  authority ;  economy  in 
the  public  expense,  that  labor  may  be  lightly  burdened ;  the 
honest  payment  of  our  debts,  and  sacred  preservation  of 
the  public  faith;  encouragement  of  agriculture,  and  of  com- 
merce its  handmaid;  the  diffusion  of  information,  and  the 
arraignment  of  all  abuses  at  the  bar  of  public  reason ;  freedom 
of  religion,  freedom  of  the  press,  and  freedom  of  person  under 
the  protection  of  the  habeas  corpus  j  and  trial  by  juries  impar- 
tially selected ; — these  principles  form  the  bright  constellation 
which  has  gone  before  us  and  guided  our  steps  through  an  age 
of  revolution  and  reformation.  The  wisdom  of  our  sages  and 
the  blood  of  our  heroes  have  been  devoted  to  their  attainment ; 
they  should  be  the  creed  of  our  political  faith,  the  text  of  our 
civic  instruction,  the  touchstone  by  which  to  try  the  services 
of  those  we  trust;  and  should  we  wander  from  them  in  mo- 
ments of  error  or  alarm,  let  us  hasten  to  retrace  our  steps  and 
to  regain  the  road  which  alone  leads  to  peace,  liberty,  and 
safety." 

By  this  moderate  statement  of  his  party  principles, 
Jefferson  hoped  to  wm  to  his  party's  support  a  large  body 
of  moderate  Federalists,  and  in  this  he  succeeded.  The 
body  of  the  people  in  Pennsylvania  and  New  York,  and 
even  in  New  England,  were  democratic  in  temper  and  in 
spirit,  and  though  the  international  situation  brought  the 
Republican  administrations  of  Jefferson  and  Madison  into 
a  reluctant  and  unpopular  conduct  of  a  commercial  war, 
the  wise  principles  of  their  party,  combined  with  the  fac- 
tious opposition  of  the  New  England  Federalists,  soon  led 
to  the  complete  dominance  of  the  Republican  party.  Jef- 
fersonian  democracy  has  never  since  been  seriously  com- 
bated by  any  political  party,  but  all  subsequent  parties 
have  assumed  to  represent  its  principles. 


CHAPTER   III 

THE  PERIOD  OF  PERSONAL  POLITICS 

THE  second  period  of  our  party  history  under  the  Na- 
tional Government  may  be  said  to  extend  from  1 8x6 
to  1832,  from  the  final  collapse  of  the  Federal- 
ists to  the  appearance  of  the  Whigs.     This  was        Period  of 
a  time  of  transition,   of  reorganization,  when  Party 

the  political  forces  of  the  country  were  finding 
new  lines  of  division.  With  the  close  of  the  War  of  1812, 
the  Federalist  party  disappeared.  It  could  not  survive 
its  factious  opposition  to  that  war.  The  party  could  not 
stand  the  opprobrium  of  the  Hartford  Convention.  Many 
of  the  Federalist  leaders  had  given  their  support  to  that 
most  unpopular  gathering,  while  many  others  of  them  felt 
that  the  Hartford  Assembly  should  have  adopted  even 
more  ** effectual  measures"  of  opposition  to  the  war. 
The  party  could  not  remove  the  public  conviction  that 
its  little  conclave  of  leaders  had  been  secretly  plotting 
treason  and  disunion.  Thirty-four  Federalist  electors 
voted  for  Rufus  King  for  President  in  18 16,  but  they 
were  the  last  surviving  remnants  of  the  party  of  Hamilton 
and  John  Adams,  and  their  vote  was  the  party's  last  ex- 
piring act. 

Jefferson  had  said  in  his  famous  inaugural  address: 
"We  are  all  Federalists,  we  are  all  Republicans."  The 
dictum  was  realized,  at  least  the  half  of  it  that  Jefferson 
desired, — the  Federalists  had  ceased  to  be,  and  the  people 
were  all  Republicans. 

31 


32     Political  Parties  and  Party  Problems 

Monroe  and  Tompkins  were  elected  in  1820  without 
opposition,  the  only  instance  of  its  kind  in  our  history 
"  Era  of  since  the  election  of  Washington.  Because  all 
Good  FeeUng."parties  wcre  merged  into  one,  this  period  has 
been  called  the  ** era  of  good  feeling."  But  there  was 
anything  but  **good  feeling"  among  the  rival  political 
leaders  of  the  time.  Voters  grouped  themselves  about 
their  favorite  party  leaders,  the  rival  Republican  aspir- 
ants for  the  presidency.  Among  these  leaders  and  their 
respective  groups,  bickerings  and  animosities  were  fierce 
and  bitter.  This  aspect  of  politics  at  that  time  has  caused 
this  to  be  called  the  "period  of  personal  politics."  There 
were  "Adams  men,"  "Jackson  men,"  "Clay  men," 
*  *  Calhounites,  *  *  and  * '  Clintonians. '  *  But  all  these  leaders 
and  presidential  aspirants,  both  in  1824  and  1828,  be- 
longed to  the  same  party.  The  * '  Adams  and  Clay  Repub- 
licans "  and  the  "Jackson  Republicans"  acknowledged, 
for  a  while  at  least,  each  other's  claim  to  the  party  name. 

"Principles,  not  men,"  has  been  a  notable  maxim  in 
our  political  history.  It  is  not  to  be  understood  that  this 
maxim  was  reversed  in  this  period  of  personal  politics. 
The  personal  groups  were  not  without  principles.  All 
were  Republican,  and  each  group  believed  that  its  leader 
best  represented  the  true  principles  of  Jeffersonian  Re- 
publicanism. The  "Clintonians,"  for  instance,  who  first 
conducted  a  presidential  contest  on  the  basis  of  a  personal 
following,  represented  opposition  to  Madison  in  1812,  but 
The  they  professed  to  do  so  on   principles   which 

cuntonians.  they  Considered  important.  The  "Clinto- 
nians," in  supporting  DeWitt  Clinton,  a  Republican, 
against  Madison,  opposed  the  nomination  of  presidential 
candidates  by  Congressional  caucus  as  being  by  undele- 
gated authority;  they  opposed  an  official  regency  and 
the  Virginia  dynasty  as  being  a  monopoly  by  particu- 
lar States  of  the  offices  of  the  Government.  This,  they 
held,  was  unrepublican  and  tended  to  oligarchy.     They 


;  *^  v.^.  T 


! 


34    Political  Parties  and  Party  Problems 

ment  in  their  support,  and  who  believed  that  the  Con- 
stitution conferred  the  necessary  power  to  advance  these 
National  cnds,  became  National-Republicans^  under  the 
RepubUcans.  leadership  of  Clay  and  Adams.  On  the  other 
hand,  the  Democratic-Republicans^ — those  who  thought 
more  of  local  self-government  by  the  people  directly  and 
less  of  national  power,  the  former  Republicans  of  the 
more  strict  States*  rights  school  who  had  a  leaning  to 
strict  construction,  limitation  of  the  powers  of  the  Gen- 
eral Government,  and  who  were  especially  opposed  to 
bank  corporations  and  internal  improvements,  except 
jacksonian  under  State  control, — these  were  ready  to  en- 
Democrats.  \^^^  under  the  banner  and  name  of  Jacksonian 
Democrats,  or  plain  Democrats, — the  only  "true  blue" 
Republicans,  as  they  soon  claimed  to  be. 

The  name  National-Republican  was  assumed  by  the 
party  of  Clay  and  Adams  towards  the  end  of  John 
Quincy  Adams's  presidency.  Adams,  from  1825  to  1829, 
was  the  official  leader  of  the  party.  But  his  personal 
animosities,  his  lack  of  tactful  address  and  of  the  politi- 
cian's art,  and  his  quarrels  with  the  old  Federalists  of 
New  England,  whom  he  charged  with  a  design  to  dissolve 
the  Union  and  to  establish  a  separate  confederation  in 
1808, — these  factors  alienated  much  support  from  Adams, 
and  the  leadership  of  the  party  passed  to  Clay.  Adams 
became  a  free  lance  in  isolated  independence. 

In  the  campaign  of  1828,  politics  were  still  chiefly  per- 
sonal. Jackson  was  to  be  vindicated.  The  election  did 
not  turn  on  the  candidates'  public  views  or  public  poli- 
cies. What  Jackson  stood  for,  either  on  the  matter  of 
internal  improvement,  the  tariff,  or  the  bank,  was  not 
positively,  or,  at  least,  not  publicly  known.  It  was,  in 
the  minds  of  the  Jacksonians,  a  question  of  the  peo- 
ple against  political  management  and  combinations. 
Throughout  Adams's  administration,  Jackson  and  his 
managers  cultivated  the  feeling  among  the  masses  that 


I  V  The  Period  of  Personal  Politics 

were  particularly  opposed  to  continuing  a  citizen  of  \  ir-, 
ginia  in  the  presidency  *  *  unless  it  can  be  shown  that  that 
State  enjoys  a  corresponding  monopoly  of  talents  and 
patriotism."  Virginia  had  already  had  the  presidency, 
for  twenty  years  out  of  twenty-four, — a  practice  that  had 
arrayed  the  "agricultural  against  the  commercial  interest; 
of  the  country  "  ;  and  the  "Clintonians  "  urged  especially 
opposition  to  Madison,  who  was  "lacking  in  energy,  de- 
cision, and  efficiency."  The  Federalists  in  1812  made  no 
nomination,  but  united  with  the  discontented  Republi- 
cans in  support  of  Clinton,  but  the  effort  to  defeat  Madi- 
son was  unavailing.  The  opposition  was  tainted  with. 
Federalism. 

Monroe  allayed  opposition;  but  after  his  administra-  .^ 
tion  the  personal  candidacies  in  politics  revived,  and  the  _ 
election  of  1824  became  famous  for  the  contest  between   . 
the  six  great  Republican  leaders  who  divided  among  them 
the   support   of   the   country, — Adams,    Jackson,   Clay, 
Crawford,  Clinton,  and  Calhoun.  , 

Soon  after  this  conflict  around  personal  leaders  in  1824,   . 
the  various  Republican  elements  began  naturally  to  line  ^ 
up  into  two  opposing  parties  on  the  basis  of 
principles   and   public  policies.     New   parties  Pubii^ToUd*I»  : 
were  forming  according  to  the  leanings  of  men  again  Appear, 
toward  the  three  great  public  domestic  ques- 
tions of  that  time, — the  Bank,  the  Tariff,  and  Interna 
Improvements.     The  banking   interest  desired  a  strong 
national  banking  institution,  with  national  regu-  xh  b  nk  th 
lation  of  the  currency;  the  commercial  interest  Tariff,  internal 
desired  good  roads,  improvements  in  rivers  and  ^p'^o^®^^®"*^ 
harbors,  and  consequent  easy  communication  between  it 
States.     A  new  manufacturing  interest  had  also  ari 
which   desired  protection   to   manufactures.     Thus 
conditions   were   ripening .  for   a   new  party  alignr 
Those  who  advocated  these  public  measures,  who  fav 
the  agency  and  the  activity   of  the   National  Go 


The  Period  of  Personal  Politics         35 

the  people  had  been  defrauded  of  their  choice.  Jackson 
had  received  more  votes  in  the  Electoral  College  than 
Adams;  he  had  surpassed  Adams  in  the  popular  vote; 
when  the  election  came  to  the  House  of  Representa- 
tives, Jackson  and  his  friends  contended  that  the  Repre- 
sentatives there  should  vote  as  their  States  had  voted  in 
the  College.  This  was  not  done ;  but,  on  the  other  hand, 
a  combination,  a  "corrupt  bargain,"  as  was  falsely- 
charged,  was  formed  between  Adams  and  Clay,  by  which 
Clay  was  to  make  Adams  President  and  Adams  was  to 
make  Clay  Secretary  of  State.  With  all  these  personal 
grievances  in  mind  the  Jackson  party  entered  on  a  four- 
years'  campaign  to  beat  Adams  in  1828.  After  Jackson's 
personal  victory  and  vindication  in  this  campaign,  during 
his  first  administration  and  under  his  leadership  the 
modern  Democratic  party,  as  we  know  it  to-day,  came 
into  being. 

Jackson's  decisive  success  in  1828  clearly  revealed  the 
fact  that  the  masses  were  coming  into  larger  political  con- 
trol. With  Jackson,  the  people  had  come  into  their 
own.  The  "plain,  common  people"  were  now  to  rule. 
Patrician  leaders  should  no  longer  presume  to  arrange 
candidates  and  policies  for  the  people,  but  the  people 
themselves  should  give  their  commands  to  their  leaders. 

"Hitherto  the  country  had  known  the  leadership  only  of 

V  England  and  the  South,   regions  peopled  straight  out 

^le  Old  World ;  the  one  ruled  by  a  professional  aristocracy 

ninisters  and  lawyers,  the  other  by  a  social  and  proprietary 

^tocracy  of  land-owners ;  both  governed  alike  in  thought  and 

'.on  by  old  traditions,  and  both  smacking,  whatever  their 

^ssion  of  democratic  principle,  of  an  Old  World  taste  for 

"ge  and  for  the  authority  of  a  trained,  experienced  dis- 

.1  minority.  * '  ^ 

^residents  before  Jackson  had  been  aristocrats, 

ow  Wilson,  A  History  of  the  American  People,  vol.  iii.,p.  237. 


36    Political  Parties  and  Party  Problems 

four  from  Virginia,  two  from  New  England.  The  differ- 
ence between  Jefferson  and  Jackson  was  not  in  their  po- 
litical principles — they  professed  the  same  beliefs — but  in 
social  stock  and  breeding,  in  their  life  and  habits,  in  their 
antecedents  and  material  conditions.  The  democratic 
spirit  represented  in  Jackson  had  been  promoted  by  the 
Westward  movement,  by  the  equality  among  the  pioneer 
settlers,  by  the  removal  of  suffrage  restrictions,  by  the 
admission  of  Western  States.  Jackson  could  not  plead 
pride  of  ancestry,  for  he  had  been  born  in  a  hut  of  poverty 
and  had  been  reared  in  trial  and  adversity ;  by 

The  Masses        ,  .      ,  ,       ,  ,  , 

Reject  the      this  he  Came  the  better  to  know  and  represent 
Leadership    ^^iQ  humblc  people.^Lefferson's  teachings  had 

of  the  Classes.  ^       ^        ^B  ° 

borne  their  fruit,  ^he  people  had  come  to 
take  him  at  his  word,  and  in  Jackson  they  were  now 
to  make  real  the  democracy  that  Jefferson  had  taught 
the  nation  to  profess.  Property-holding,  education,  an 
influential  clergy  in  New  England ;  men  of  manor  lands, 
of  counting-houses,  ships,  and  commercial  connections, 
in  the  Middle  States;  the  aristocracy  of  slave-planta- 
tions, of  cavalier  gentlemen,  of  traditional  ** first  families," 
in  Virginia  and  the  South, — these  were  the  forces  that 
had  been  in  actual  control  of  the  country.  The  per- 
version of  the  popular  will  in  1824  was  the  natural  and 
logical  result  of  this  aristocratic  regime,  and  it  had  been 
possible  because  these  classes  continued  to  have  th^ 
audacity  to  think  that  they  were  wiser  and  could  gove^i  , 
better  than  the  people  themselves, — the  plain  honest  folk,*'*' 
whom  these  aristocrats  looked  upon  as  an  incompetent 
and  ignorant  mob.     Such  was  the  democratic  feeling. 

Jackson's  triumph  was  partly  personal,  and  therefore 
his  election  fittingly  belongs  to  the  era  of  personal  politics. 
But  it  also  closes  that  era,  and  with  his  administration 
another  era  begins  because  his  triumph  represents  a  po- 
litical purpose  and  conviction  adapted  to  become  the 
unifying  basis  of  a  new  party  alignment.     This  unifying 


The  Period  of  Personal  Politics         37 

cause  struck  deeper  than  questions  of  policy  and  con- 
struction, deeper,  even,  than  States*  rights  and  national- 
ism which  had  been  so  potent  in  Jefferson's  triumph. 
The  unifying  force  that  welded  Jackson's  supporters  into 
a  great  party  lay  at  the  root  of  republican  government ; 
— it  was  in  the  determination  that  the  government  should 
be  of  and  by  the  people.  Men  in  Pennsylvania  who  be- 
lieved in  protection ;  men  in  the  West  who  believed  in 
internal  improvements ;  men  in  the  South  and  West  who 
believed  in  free  trade ;  men  in  the  South  who  believed  in 
States'  rights;  men  in  all  sections  who  believed  in  na- 
tionalism and  broad  construction, — all  joined  with  Jack- 
son to  make  the  government  one  of  the  people.  These 
democratic  forces,  ready  for  real  party  life,  needed  only 
astute  political  managers  and  organizers,  who  were  at 
hand  in  men  like  Martin  Van  Buren  and  William  B.  Lewis, 
to  be  brought  to  triumph.  As  the  party  of  the  "plain 
people"  these  forces  were  no  longer  ashamed  to  call 
themselves  Democratic.  Under  this  new  democratization 
of  the  government  the  name  that  had  been  originally  ap- 
plied to  the  followers  of  Jefferson  in  derision  was  to  be 
borne  by  the  followers  of  Jackson  as  a  decoration  of 
honor. 


CHAPTER   IV 

THE  WHIGS  AND   THE  JACKSONIAN  DEMOCRATS 

THE  third  period  of  our  party  history,  under  the  Na- 
tional Government,  is  marked  by  the  rise  and  decline 
Third  ^^  ^^^  Whigs,  from  1832  to  1856,     This  was 

Period  of  the  period  of  party  conflicts  over  the  Second 
Party  History,  y^itcd  States  Bank,  the  Tariff,  Internal  Im- 
provements, the  Sub-Treasury,  Jackson's  Executive 
Veto  and  power  of  removal,  the  Annexation  of  Texas, 
the  War  with  Mexico,  and,  finally,  the  compromises 
touching  slavery  in  1850. 

The  principles  and  organization  of  the  National  Repub- 
licans— so  far  as  they  had  an  organization — became  the 
Origin  of  the  nucleus  for  the  new  party  of  the  Whigs.  The 
Whigs.  party,  still  under  the  name  of  the  National  Re- 

publicans, in  a  national  convention  at  Baltimore,  on  De- 
cember 12,  1 83 1,  unanimously  nominated  Clay  for  the 
presidency.  Following  the  recommendation  of  this  con- 
vention, a  "Young  Men's  National  Republican  Conven- 
tion" met  at  Washington  on  May  7,  1832,  and  adopted  a 
series  of  ten  resolutions  as  expressive  of  the  principles  of 
the  party, — "the  first  platform  ever  adopted  by  a  national 
convention."*  These  resolutions  favored  "adequate 
The  Whig  protection  to  American  industry  "  ;  "a  uniform 
Platform.  system  of  internal  improvements  by  the  Gen- 
eral Government  "  ;  the  decision  of  constitutional  ques- 
tions   by   the    Supreme    Court;     defended   the   Senate 

*  Stanwood,  History  of  the  Presidency. 
38 


The  Whigs  and  Jacksonian  Democrats    39 

against  the  Executive,  and  denounced  the  "indiscrimi- 
nate removal  of  public  officers  for  the  mere  difference  of 
opinion  as  a  gross  abuse  of  power,  corrupting  to  the 
morals  and  dangerous  to  the  liberties  of  the  country." 
This  platform  is  sometimes  referred  to  as  that  of  the 
National  Democratic  party,  which  shows  that  the  term 
*' Democratic  "  had  become  popular,  and  that  the  oppo. 
nents  of  Jackson  were  not  willing  that  his  wing  of  the  old 
Democratic-Republicans  should  monopolize  the  popular 
name.  But  the  Democratic  name  was  already  too  well 
attached  to  the  followers  of  Jackson  to  allow  of  its  being 
otherwise  appropriated,  and  the  opposition  had  to  cast 
about  for  another.  The  name  Whig  was  not  The  whig 
applied  till  1834,  when  it  was  taken  up  as  a  ^"°®- 

popular  rallying  term  that  would  appeal  to  all  political 
elements  in  opposition  to  Jackson.  "Whig"  called  up 
old  Revolutionary  sentiment  and  loyalty.  The  Whigs 
announced  themselves  as  the  true  followers  and  succes- 
sors of  the  men  of  ''j6.  They  would  stand,  as  their 
sires  of  the  Revolution  had  stood,  in  stout  opposition  to 
executive  prerogative  and  usurpation,  whether  on  the  part 
of  King  George  in  1776,  or  of  "King  Andrew  "  in  1834. 

The  Whigs,  then,  assumed  to  stand  for  the  true  Re- 
publican and  Patriot  position  of  opposition  to  the  in- 
crease of  the  power  of  the  Executive  at  the  expense  of 
the  legislature,  as  Jefferson  did  in  1798  and  1800,  and  for 
opposition  to  the  high  prerogative,  or  Tory,  doctrine  of 
Jackson,  who,  by  his  defiance  of  the  Supreme  Court,  his 
disregard  of  the  rights  of  the  Senate,  his  high-handed 
use  of  the  veto,  his  summary  political  removals  without 
cause,  seemed  to  be  usurping  all  the  functions  of  Gov- 
ernment to  himself,  like  an  absolute  monarch. 

It  has  been  said  by  an  eminent  writer  that,  in  its  per- 
manent significance,  the  real  question  raised  by  the  Whigs 
was  (and  it  was  fundamental  in  the  American  political 
system),  whether  we  should  have  parliamentary  govern- 


40    Political  Parties  and  Party  Problems 

ment  or  presidential  government  in  the  United  States. 
Should  the  Executive  be  co-ordinate  with,  and  indepen- 
dent of,  the  legislative  branch,  or  should  Con- 
terpretation  of  gressional  control  be  established  over  the 
the  Whig        Administration  ?    If  the  people  had  allowed  the 

Position.  ,  IT       r 

Senate's  censure  of  Jackson  to  stand;  if  they 
had  authorized  his  impeachment  by  the  House;  if  they 
had  reversed  his  policy  on  the  deposits  and  the  bank,  the 
Executive  would  have  been  subordinated  to  the  control 
of  Congress,  and  executive  independence  would  have  been 
ultimately  destroyed/ 

It  is  not  evident  that  this  interpretation  of  the  issue 
was  in  the  minds  either  of  the  Jackson  Democrats  or  of 
the  Whig  opposition.  The  Whigs  never  defined  and  an- 
nounced the  idea  of  legislative  supremacy  for  themselves. 
They  did  not  claim  to  embody  that  principle;  they, 
rather,  made  use  of  the  old  Whig  anti-prerogative 
sentiment,  the  opposition  to  one-man  power,  and  the 
popularity  of  representative  government,  in  order  to  rally 
opposition  to  Jackson.  They  did  not  come  out  for  a 
change  in  the  Constitution  modifying  the  veto  power  in 
restraint  of  executive  influence  over  public  policies  until 
their  own  Vice-President  had  used  his  veto  (upon  suc- 
ceeding to  the  presidency)  to  defeat  a  policy  that  had 
been  clamed  as  distinctively  Whig.  When  the  bank 
question  and  the  tariff  question  had  dropped  out  of  pub- 
lic notice,  after  Tyler's  administration,  the  question  of 
governmental  form  disappeared  too,  which  may  go  to 
show  that  the  latter  was  not  regarded  as  fundamental  by 
the  Whig  leaders  of  that  day,  but  merely  as  accessory  to 
the  economic  policies  that  were  really  Whig. 

The  Whigs,  in  1834,  when  the  party  name  first  came 
into  use  (if  we  consider  the  party  as  distinct  from  the 
National  Republicans),  are  to  be  looked  upon  chiefly  as 
a  party  of  opposition.     Jackson's  positive  policies  had 

*  Professor  Burgess,  Middle  Period. 


The  Whigs  and  Jacksonian  Democrats    41 

aroused  many  elements  against  him.  The  Whigs  stood 
for  marshalling  these  forces  under  one  banner.  The  di- 
verse, not  to  say  conflicting,  elements  making  up  the 
early  Whigs  were  as  follows : 

1.  The  National  Republicans,  the  advocates  under 
Clay  and  Adams  of  the  "American  System,*' — a  national 
tariff,  a  national  bank,  and  national  internal  constituent 
improvements.  This  group  represented  pos-  Elements  of 
itive  economic  principles,  but  at  this  time  they  *^*  whigs. 
were  National  Republican  principles  rather  than  Whig, 
and  they  had  found  party  formulation  before  the  Whigs, 
as  a  party,  appeared  in  the  arena. 

2.  The  Nullifiers  and  the  extreme  States*  rights  men, 
who  were  offended  at  Jackson's  policy  toward  South 
Carolina,  which,  as  they  thought,  threatened 

-      ,       .   .  .    -  r    i     r>  T  If-  NuUifiers. 

the  legitimate  rights  of  the  States.     In  addition 
to  Calhoun  and  the  South  Carolinians,  John  Tyler  and 
other  representatives  of  the  Old  Virginia  School  were 
illustrations  of  this  kind. 

3.  A  majority  of  those  known  as  ** Anti-Masons.'* 

4.  Former  Jackson  men  who  condemned  his  high- 
handed conduct  in  the  use  of  the  veto  and  the  removing 
power, — the  "immolation  of  Duane  and  the  subserviency 
of  Taney,"  as  Greeley  expressed  it. 

5.  The  personal  opponents  of  Jackson, — those  who 
considered  him  incompetent  and  as  guilty  of  executive 
usurpations. 

There  was  no  basis  in  these  diverse  elements  for  a 
party  of  organic  unity.  The  Whigs  were  never  a  party 
of  fixed  principles  and  harmonious  purpose.  It  spent 
most  of  its  campaigns  in  "beating  up  recruits  regardless 
of  principles, — the  bane  of  the  party  throughout  its  whole 
national  existence." 

"No  delegate  could  come  amiss  to  their  conventions:  the 
original  Adams  Republican,  the  NuUifier  of  South  Carolina, 


42    Political  Parties  and  Party  Problems 

the  Anti-Mason  of  New  York  or  Pennsylvania,  the  States' 
rights  delegate  from  Georgia,  and  the  general  mass  of  the 
dissatisfied  everywhere  could  find  a  refuge  in  its  councils.  It 
asked  no  questions:  it  ventured  but  twice  in  its  history  (1844 
and  1852)  to  adopt  a  platform  of  principles,  and  it  ventured 
but  once  (1844)  to  nominate  a  candidate  for  the  presidency 
with  any  avowed  political  principles. ' '  * 

Its  only  avowed  principles  w^ere  involved  in  its  advocacy 
of  the  measures  included  in  the  **  American  System," — its 
inheritance  from  the  National  Republicans, — and  opposi- 
tion to  the  veto  and  executive  encroachments.  The 
Whig  platform  in  1840  was  but  a  shout  for  harmony 
among  all  the  forces  that  were  ant i- Jackson  and  anti-Van 
Buren,  while  its  campaign  was  but  an  effort  (all  too  suc- 
cessful) to  drown  the  national  reason  in  a  hullabaloo  of 
political  excitement,  with  its  ''claptrap  of  processions, 
songs,  emblems,  and  slang"  ';  while  in  1848  its  platform 
was  but  a  eulogy  of  Taylor  and  an  attempt  to  convince 
the  voters  that  its  candidate  was  a  Whig.  In  1844,  in 
connection  with  longer  planks  commending  and  eulogiz- 
ing their  candidates,  a  brief  plank  summarized  the  party 
principles : 

"A  well-regulated  currency;  a  tariff  for  revenue  to  defray 
the  necessary  expenses  of  the  government,  and  discriminating 
Whig  Plat-  with  special  reference  to  the  domestic  labor  of  the 
form  of  1844.  country ;  the  distribution  of  the  proceeds  from  the 
sales  of  the  public  lands ;  a  single  term  for  the  presidency ;  a 
reform  of  Executive  usurpations ;  an  administration  of  practi- 
cal efficiency,  controlled  by  a  well-regulated  and  wise  econ- 
omy.** 

In  addition  to  these,  and  conspicuous  among  its  pro- 
posals, was  its  demand  for  the  limitation  of  the  executive 

*  Professor  Johnston  in  Lalor's  Cyclopedia  of  Political  Science, 
'  Stanwood,  p.  206. 


The  Whigs  and  Jacksonian  Democrats    43 

veto,  so  that  the  "will  of  the  nation  should  be  uncon- 
trolled by  the  will  of  one  man. ' '  * 

As  Jackson's  personality  disappeared  as  an  issue,  as  the 
economic  questions  sank  in  importance,  and  the  slavery 
question  arose  to  prominence,  the  Whigs  were  Division 
even  more  unable  to  act  unitedly.  The  among  the 
Northern  and  Southern  wings  could   not   be  ^^' 

held  together.  The  Wilmot  Proviso, — the  proposal  to 
prohibit  slavery  by  Congressional  action  in  the  newly  ac- 
quired Territories, — acted  as  a  dividing  wedge.  It  is  true 
that  the  Whigs  elected  their  candidate,  another  military 
hero  without  any  known  political  principles,  in  1848;  but 
this  was  because  of  the  divisions  within  the  Democratic 
party.  The  Whigs  included  strong  pro-slavery  men  in 
the  South  and  radical  anti-slavery  men  in  the  North, 
while  a  very  large  body  of  Northern  Whigs  cared  very 
little  about  the  slavery  question.  The  latter  were  op- 
posed to  the  agitation  of  the  subject  and  wished  to  evade, 
or  avoid,  it  altogether.  It  is  said  that  Thaddeus  Stevens, 
one  of  the  keenest  satirists  that  ever  sat  in  Congress,  sug- 
gested to  the  Speaker  in  1850,  after  the  Fugitive  Slave 
Law  had  been  voted  on,  that  he  had  better  send  a  page 
into  the  lobby  to  inform  the  Whig  members  there  that 
they  might  safely  return  to  the  House,  as  the  slavery 
question  had  been  disposed  of.  This  well  expressed  how 
impossible  it  was,  with  the  slavery  question  becoming 
more  and  more  prominent,  that  the  Whig  party  should 
meet  the  situation  and  take  any  decided  stand  on  the 
dominant  issue.  How  could  Toombs  of  Georgia,  and 
Giddings  of  Ohio,  get  on  together  in  the  same  party? 
Could  a  pro-slavery  "fire-eater"  and  a  "fanatical  Aboli- 
tionist * '  abide  together  ?  Could  the  *  *  Conscience  Whigs 
(radical  anti-slavery  men)  and  the  "Cotton  Whigs  "  (for 
peace  at  any  price  on  slavery  for  the  sake  of  the  cotton 

'  Address  of  Whig  members  of  Congress,  Niles's  Register^  September  18, 
1841  ;  see  p.  153,  the  Author's  American  Republic  and  Its  Government. 


44    Political  Parties  and  Party  Problems 

trade)  and  the  "Silver  Grays  "  (the  administration  forces 
under  Fillmore), — could  these  forces  all  stand  together  in 
support  of  the  same  platforms  and  the  same  candidates? 
One  more  effort,  at  any  rate,  was  to  be  made,  and,  in 
1852,  the  Whigs  attempted  to  hold  together  these  con- 
flicting elements  of  their  party  on  the  basis  of  the  com- 
promises of  1850.  These  compromises  they  accepted  as 
a  final  settlement  of  the  slavery  question, — as  a  * '  finality, '  * 
— in  the  historic  resolution  of  their  platform  of  1852: 

"  The  series  of  acts  [of  1850],  the  act  known  as  the  Fugitive 
Slave  Law  included,  are  received  and  acquiesced  in  by  the 
Notable  Whig  ^^^S  party  as  a  settlement  of  the  exciting  questions 
Declaration  of  which  they  embrace ;  we  will  maintain  them  and 
^^^^*  insist  upon  their  strict  enforcement ;  and  we  depre- 

cate all  further  agitation  of  the  question  thus  settled  as  danger- 
ous to  our  peace,  and  will  discountenance  all  efforts  to  continue 
or  renew  such  agitation  whenever,  wherever,  or  however  the 
attempt  may  be  made;  and  we  will  maintain  this  system  as 
essential  to  the  nationality  of  the  Whig  party  and  the  integrity 
of  the  Union." 

It  was  this  resolution  that  led  to  the  remark  that  the 
"Whig  party  died  of  an  attempt  to  swallow  the  Fugitive 
Slave  Law." 

The  campaign  of  1852  was  the  last  national  effort  the 
Whig  party  ever  made.  General  Scott,  its  presidential 
candidate  of  that  year,  carried  but  four  States, — Massa- 
chusetts and  Vermont  in  the  North,  and  Kentucky  and 
Tennessee  in  the  South.  The  party  was  as  good  as  dead, 
and  with  the  increasing  anti-slavery  agitation  brought 
about  by  the  events  between  1852  and  1856,  especially  by 
the  attempted  enforcement  of  the  Fugitive  Slave  Law 
and  the  repeal  of  the  Missouri  Compromise,  a  new  party 
had  to  be  found  to  oppose  the  Democracy.  Remnants 
of  the  Whigs  under  the  name  of  the  American  party 
nominated  Fillmore  and  Dayton  and  cast  874,000  of  the 


The  Whigs  and  Jacksonian  Democrats    45 

popular  votes  in  1856;  and  the  "Constitutional  Union  '* 
party  of  i860,  which  nominated  Bell  and  Everett  in  i860 
and  cast  587,000  popular  votes  and  carried  three  States 
with  39  electoral  votes,  was  composed  very  largely  of 
**old  line"  conservative  Whigs.     Mr.  Schouler  says: 

*  *  Whiggery  in  its  time  had  been  less  patrician,  less  distrust- 
ful of  the  people  than  Federalism ;  but  the  Federalists  in  their 
day  had  accomplished  much  for  history  that  was  permanent 
while  the  Whigs  left  nothing.  Its  honorable  epitaph  may  be 
that  *it  loved  the  Union  and  sought  sincerely  to  preserve  it.*  "  * 

While  the  Whigs  as  a  party  left  little  in  permanent  re- 
sults, yet  when  we  look  to  the  personnel  of  its  leadership 
it  will  be  seen  that  the  party  must  be  accorded  pe„onngi  ^f 
a  high  rank  on  account  of  the  individual  ser-  whig 

vices  of  its  statesmen.  Clay,  Webster,  and  John  leadership. 
Quincy  Adams  are  a  trio  of  names  without  many  peers 
in  American  political  history,  and  Calhoun  acted  with 
the  Whigs  until  1840;  there  were  no  abler  leaders  from 
the  South  than  Bell  of  Tennessee,  Berrien,  Forsyth, 
Toombs,  and  Alexander  H.  Stephens  of  Georgia;  while 
Fessenden  of  Maine,  Collamer  of  Vermont,  Winthrop, 
Choate,  and  Everett  of  Massachusetts,  Gideon  Granger, 
Millard  Fillmore,  Greeley,  Weed,  and  Seward  of  New 
York,  Bayard .  and  Clayton  of  Delaware,  Mangum, 
Badger,  and  Graham  of  North  Carolina,  Giddings, 
Corwin,  and  Ewing  of  Ohio,  Richard  W.  Thompson  and 
Caleb  B.  Smith  of  Indiana,  were  all  leaders  of  the  first 
rank.  These  names  suggest  an  array  of  talent  and 
leadership  certainly  not  excelled,  perhaps  not  equalled, 
in  the  ranks  of  any  party  in  our  history. 

In  this  period  of  our  party  history  the  Whigs  were  con- 
fronted by  the  Democratic  party.  This  party  inherited 
the  name  and  prestige  of  Jeffersonian  Democracy,  and 
for  the  larger  part  of  this  period  they  were  under  the 

*  History  of  the  United  States ^  vol.  v.,  p.  249. 


46    Political  Parties  and  Party  Problems 

leadership  of  two  of  the  most  astute  of  party  captains, 
Jackson  and  Van  Buren.  The  Jacksonian  Democrats 
denounced  the  Whigs  as  Federalists,  while  they  them- 
selves claimed  to  be  the  champions  of  the  common  peo- 
ple. In  the  first  contest  in  which  the  Democrats  met  the 
opposing  party,  in  1832,  Jackson  embodied  in  himself  and 
in  his  record  the  principles  and  policies  of  his  party.  He 
had  made  a  record  as  a  ''Tribune  of  the  Peo- 

Jackson,  the 

"  People  "  and  ple» "  against  Nullification,  against  the  "mon- 
the "  Money "  ster,"   the   United   States  Bank,   and   against 

Power."  ^ 

"Nick"  Biddle,  the  king  of  the  "Money 
Power.'*  Jackson,  it  was  contended,  had  come  in  by  a 
spontaneous  movement  of  the  people, — but  it  was  by  a 
spontaneity  that  had  been  carefully  cultivated  by  Van 
Buren,  Hill,  Lewis,  and  other  Jackson  managers  and 
advisers  who  afterwards  became  known  as  his  "Kitchen 
Cabinet," — the  backstair  influence  of  Jackson's  adminis- 
tration. 

The  Democrats  published  no  national  platform  either 
in  1832  or  in  1836.  But  in  1836  the  Democrats  of  New 
York  State  published  a  platform  which  was  generally  ac- 
cepted by  the  party  as  a  declaration  of  principles.  This 
asserted : 

Democratic  "  (^)  UnquaUfied  hostiHty   to  bank   notes  and 

Position  in  paper  money  as  a  circulating  medium,  because  gold 
^^^^'  and  silver  is  the  only  safe  and  constitutional  cur- 

rency. ' ' 

"  (2)  Hostility  to  all  monopolies  by  legislation,  because  they 
are  violations  of  equal  rights  of  the  people." 

**  (3)  Hostility  to  the  creation  of  vested  rights  in  corpora- 
tions beyond  the  reach  of  succeeding  legislatures,  as  dangerous 
usurpations  of  the  people's  sovereign  rights;  all  acts  of  incor- 
poration might  be  altered  by  succeeding  legislatures. ' ' 

This  party  proposed  that  the  people  should  not  be  put 
into  the  power  of  monopolies  and  corporations  through  a 


The  Whigs  and  Jacksonian  Democrats    47 

system   of   vested   rights   or   by   means   of   irrepealable 
charters. 

In  1840,  the  Democrats  published  a  notable  platform 
in  National  Convention.     They  asserted  : 

*'(i)  That  the  National  Government  is  one  of  Denfocratic 
limited  powers,  to  be  administered  under  strict  con-  Platform  of 
struction.  ^^'*°* 

"(2)  That  the  Constitution  does  not  grant  power  to  the  Na- 
tional Government  to  carry  on  a  system  of  internal  improve- 
ments. 

"(3)  That  'justice  and  sound  policy  forbid  the  General 
Government  to  foster  one  branch  of  industry  to  the  detriment 
of  another, '  or  '  to  cherish  one  portion  of  the  country  to  the 
injury  of  another,* — an  expression  in  manifest  opposition  to 
the  tariff. 

"(4)  That  Congress  has  no  power  to  charter  a  United  States 
Bank;  that  such  an  institution  is  'one  of  deadly  hostility  to 
the  best  interests  of  the  country,  dangerous  to  our  republican 
institutions  and  the  liberties  of  the  people,  and  calculated  to 
place  the  business  of  the  country  within  the  control  of  a  con- 
centrated money  power  and  above  the  laws  and  the  will  of  the 
people.'  Government  moneys  should  be  separated  from 
banking  institutions. 

"(5)  That  Congress  has  no  power  under  the  Constitution 
*  to  interfere  with  or  control  the  domestic  institutions  of  the 
several  States,  and  that  such  States  are  the  sole  and  proper 
judges  of  everything  pertaining  to  their  own  affairs  not  pro- 
hibited by  the  Constitution ;  that  all  efforts  by  AboHtionists 
or  others,  made  to  induce  Congress  to  interfere  with  questions 
of  slavery,  or  take  incipient  steps  in  relation  thereto  [refer- 
ring to  petitions  for  the  abolition  of  slavery  in  the  District 
of  Columbia  and  of  the  inter-State  slave  trade]  are  calculated 
to  lead  to  the  most  alarming  and  dangerous  consequences,  and 
that  all  such  efforts  have  an  inevitable  tendency  to  diminish 
the  happiness  of  the  people  and  endanger  the  stability  and 
permanence  of  the  Union,  and  ought  not  to  be  countenanced 
by  any  friend  to  our  political  institutions.'  " 


48    Political  Parties  and  Party  Problems 

They  reasserted  the  principles  of  the  Declaration  of 
Independence  and  favored  easy  naturalization  of  foreign- 
ers as  in  harmony  with  these  principles.  The  resolution 
touching  the  slavery  question  was  essentially  the  position 
of  the  party  on  that  subject  throughout  this  period  of 
its  history. 

In  i844>  the  Democrats  reasserted  the  platform  of  1840. 
On  the  question  of  territorial  expansion  they  declared  for 
Democratic  ^^^  **re-occupation  of  Oregon  and  the  re-an- 
Position  in  nexation  of  Texas, ' '  asserting  that  the  Ameri- 
'  ^'  can  title  to  the  whole  of  Oregon  was  *  *  clear  and 

unquestionable."  Texas  for  the  South,  ** fifty-four  forty 
or  fight,'*  as  a  rallying  cry  for  the  North,  a  tariff  for  rev- 
enue for  the  country  at  large,  with  sufficient  evasion  of 
the  tariff  issue  in  Pennsylvania  to  carry  that  State, — this 
was  the  campaign  combination  that  carried  the  Demo- 
crats back  into  power  in  1844.  The  party  measures  of 
Polk's  administration  were  all  opposed  by  the  Whigs; 
the  aggressive  attitude  toward  Mexico  leading  to  the 
Mexican  War,  the  backdown  on  Oregon  in  the  adjust- 
ment of  the  Northwest  boundary  line ;  the  Sub-Treasury, 
and  the  ad  valorem  Walker  Tariff  of  1846, — these  items 
indicate  the  record  of  the  Democratic  party  on  the  indus- 
trial and  territorial  questions  of  that  day.  In  1848,  the 
Democrats  were  defeated  because  of  factional  divisions 
in  New  York.  In  that  year,  and  again  in  1852,  the  party 
reasserted  its  historic  platform  of  1840.  In  1852,  the 
resolution  of  1840  touching  slavery  *  was  held  to  embrace 
the  whole  subject  of  slavery  as  agitated  in  Congress,  and 
the  party  promised  to  stand  on  that  national  platform  and 
to  abide  by  a  faithful  execution  of  the  compromise  meas- 
ures of  1850,  including  the  Fugitive  Slave  Law.  As  the 
party  of  strict  construction  and  States'  rights,  finding  its 
strength  largely  in  the  South  and  leaning  toward  Free 
Trade,  the  party  promised 

'Seep.  47. 


The  Whigs  and  Jacksonian  Democrats    49 

"to  abide  by  and  uphold  the  principles  laid  down  in  the  Vir- 
ginia and  Kentucky  Resolutions  of  1798,  and  in  the  report  of 
Mr.  Madison  to  the  Virginia  Legislature  in  1799;  that  it  adopts 
those  principles  as  constituting  one  of  the  main  foundations  of 
its  political  creed,  and  is  resolved  to  carry  them  out  in  their 

obvious  meaning  and  import.** 

4 


CHAPTER  V 

THE  ABOLITIONISTS  AND  THE    LIBERTY  PARTY 

THE  years  from  1854  to  1856  mark  a  turning-point  in 
American  party  history.  It  was  then  that  parties 
The  Crisis  of  wcre  reconstituted  on  the  basis  of  resistance  to 
1854.  the  extension  of  slavery.    The  influence  of  the 

slavery  issue  on  the  Whig  and  Democratic  parties  in  this 
period  is  one  of  the  most  important  themes  in  our  party 
history.  To  understand  that  influence  is  to  understand 
the  facts  and  forces  leading  to  the  origin  of  the  modern 
Republican  party,  which  conducted  its  first  national  cam- 
paign in  1856.  To  understand  how  these  facts  and  forces 
worked  together  for  the  formation  of  a  new  party  it  is  ne- 
cessary to  take  an  historical  survey  of  the  anti-slavery 
struggle  covering  the  preceding  twenty-five  years.  Only 
an  outline  of  that  great  controversy  can  be  presented  in 
this  sketch. 

We  have  briefly  referred  to  the  neutral  or  hostile  atti- 
tude of  the  old  parties  toward  the  anti-slavery  cause. 
This  attitude  weakened  and  finally  disrupted  the  Demo- 
crats ;  it  demoralized  and  finally  annihilated  the  Whigs. 
The  anti-slavery  agitation  was  acting  like  a  dividing 
wedge  within  the  organization  of  both  parties. 

Beginning  of     rj.,..^^.  ^  .    j         .1.  j 

theAnti-  ■>■  his  agitation  was  promoted, — the  wedge  was 
Slavery  being  driven  in,  — sometimes  by  men  who  cared 

Agitation.  fir 

little  for  party  and  all  for  the  cause  of  the 
slave,  but  oftener  by  events  in  the  progress  of  pro-slavery 
aggression  which  seemed  destined  to  promote  the  crisis 

50 


The  Abolitionists  and  the  Liberty  Party    5^ 

which  Lincoln  defined  when  he  said  that  the  people  had 
to  decide  whether  the  Republic  should  become  all  slave 
or  all  free.  The  student  of  our  party  history  must  notice 
these  positive  forces  in  the  slavery  controversy  that 
brought  about  this  crisis. 

On  January  i,  1831,  William  Lloyd  Garrison  issued  the 
first  number  of  his  Liberator.  On  the  subject  of  slavery 
he  proposed  to  "be  as  harsh  as  truth  and  as  ^^^^8011  and 
uncompromising  as  justice."  On  that  subject  the  "Lib- 
he  did  not  wish  to  speak,  or  think,  or  write  erator." 
with  moderation. 

"Urge  me  not  to  use  moderation  in  a  cause  like  the  present; 
I  am  in  earnest ;  I  will  not  equivocate ;  I  will  not  excuse ;  I 
will  not  retreat  a  single  inch,  and  I  will  be  heard.  The  apathy 
of  the  people  is  enough  to  make  every  statue  leap  from  its 
pedestal,  and  to  hasten  the  resurrection  of  the  dead."  * 

It  was  the  office  of  Lundy,  Garrison,  Johnson,  Phillips, 
May,  Lovejoy,  Whittier,  and  their  Abolition  coadjutors 
to  arouse  the  national  conscience.  The  early  Abolition- 
ists were  stirring  agitators.  In  1832,  the  New  England 
Anti-Slavery  Society  was  formed.  In  1833,  the  cause  ad- 
vanced to  the  organization  of  the  American  Anti-Slavery 
Society.  The  Declaration  of  Principles  of  this  Abolition 
Society  re-proclaimed  the  undying  principles  of  the  Dec- 
laration of  Independence  that  **all  jnen  are  created  equal, 
endowed  with  certain  inalienable  rights  among  which  are 
life,  liberty,  and  the  pursuit  of  happiness  "  ;  they  asserted 
that  the  **  guilt  of  our  national  oppression  was  _ 

f*  -  .  ,       Declaration  of 

unequalled  by  that  of  any  other  nation  on  the  the  American 
face  of  the  earth,  and  therefore  the  nation  is    Anti-siavery 

.  1  ,11.  Society,  1833. 

bound  to  repent  instantly,  to  undo  the  heavy 

burdens,  and  to  let  the  oppressed  go  free ;  that  no  man 

has  a  right  to  enslave  or  imbrute  his  brother,  or  to  treat 

*  Liberator, 


$2    Political  Parties  and  Party  Problems 

him  for  one  moment  as  a  piece  of  merchandise ;  that  there 
is  no  difference  in  principle  between  the  African  Slave 
Trade  and  American  Slavery ;  that  every  American  citizen 
who  retains  a  human  being  in  bondage  is,  according  to 
Scripture,  a  man-stealer ' ;  that  the  slaves  ought  instantly 
to  be  set  free  and  brought  under  the  protection  of  the 
law ;  no  matter  how  long  they  had  been  in  bondage  their 
right  to  be  free  could  never  have  been  alienated ;  and  that 
all  laws  now  in  force  admitting  the  right  of  slavery  are, 
before  God,  utterly  null  and  void/'  They  demanded 
immediate  emancipation  without  compensation. 

As  to  the  constitutional  aspects  of  slavery,  these  early 
Abolitionists  **  fully  and  unanimously  recognized  the  sov- 
ereignty of  each  State  to  legislate  exclusively  upon  the 
subject  of  slavery  which  is  tolerated  within  its  limits ;  we 
concede  that  Congress  under  the  national  compact  has  no 
right  to  interfere  with  any  of  the  Slave  States  in  relation 
to  this  momentous  subject.'*'  This  principle  was  em- 
bodied in  the  constitution  of  the  Society  and  Judge  Wil- 
liam Jay,  one  of  the  Abolition  leaders,  held  that  he  could 
consistently  take  his  oath  to  support  the  Constitution  of 
the  United  States.  But  these  Abolitionists  held  that 
Congress  had  a  right,  and  **was  solemnly  bound  to  sup- 
press the  domestic  Slave  Trade  between  the  States,  and 
to  abolish  slavery  in  those  portions  of  our  territory  which 
the  Constitution  has  placed  under  its  exclusive  jurisdic- 
tion." Wherein  the  Constitution  made  a  citizen  liable 
to  be  called  upon  to  help  suppress  a  slave  insurrection ; 
wherein  it  authorized  a  slaveowner  to  vote  for  three 
fifths  of  his  slaves ;  wherein  it  required  a  standing  army, 
or  a  navy  on  the  coast,  for  the  support  and  protection  of 
slavery  in  the  South ;  wherein  it  authorized  the  seizure 
and  return  of  an  escaping  slave, — these  guarantees,  nomi- 

*  Exodus  xxi.,  i6. 

•Declaration  of  the  American  Anti-Slavery  Society,  December,  1833, 
Life  of  Garrison^ydi.  i.,Tp.  ^11. 


The  Abolitionists  and  the  Liberty  Party    53 

nated  in  the  constitutional  bond,  must  be  declared  forfeit. 
Such  relation  to  slavery  is  criminal  and  full  of  danger  and 
must  be  broken  up. 

Such  were  the  principles  of  the  early  Abolitionists. 
Their  purpose  was : 

"(i)  To  organize  anti-slavery  societies,  if  possi-      p^^ 
ble,  in  every  city,  town,  and  village  in  our  land.  the 

"(2)  To  send  forth  agents  to  lift  up  the  voice  AboUtionists. 
of  remonstrance,  of  warning,  of  entreaty,  and  of  rebuke. 

"(3)  To  circulate  anti-slavery  tracts  and  periodicals. 

''(4)  To  enlist  the  pulpit  and  the  press. 

**(5)  To  purify  the  churches  from  all  participation  in  the 
guilt  of  slavery,  and  to  spare  no  means  to  bring  the  nation  to 
speedy  repentance." 

This  promulgation  was  like  a  declaration  of  war.  It 
was  accepted  as  such  by  the  South.  The  Southern  peo- 
ple looked  upon  the  Abolitionists  as  incendi-  ^^^^^  ^^  ^^^ 
aries  and  madmen,  a  band  of  reckless  and  un-  AboUtion 
reasoning  fanatics,  who  were  bent  on  exciting  Agitation, 
a  slave  insurrection ;  who  were  wild  enthusiasts  for  the 
amalgamation  of  the  races;  who  were  seeking  to  spur  on 
the  National  Government  to  violent  and  unconstitutional 
abolition  of  slavery  within  the  States ;  who  were  *  *  ready 
to  fulfil  the  fiend-like  errand  of  mingling  the  blood  of  the 
master  and  the  slave,  to  whose  fate  they  were  equally  in- 
different, with  the  smouldering  ruins  of  our  peaceful 
dwellings."  * 

It  is  easy  to  see  that  between  the  Abolitionists  and  the 
defenders  of  slavery  there  was  an  inevitable  and  an  irre- 
pressible conflict.  Between  such  forces  there  could  be 
no  peace. 

The  intense  antagonism  aroused  by  the  abolition  agita- 

'  Governor  MacDuffie's  message  on  the  slavery  question  to  the  South 
Carolina  Legislature,  X835. 


54    Political  Parties  and  Party  Problems 

tion  was  not  confined  to  the  South.  It  stirred  to  resent- 
ment also  the  conservative  elements,  the  political  and 
commercial  classes  in  the  North,  whose  peace  and  inter- 
ests the  agitation  disturbed.  It  was  felt  that  unless  the 
Abolitionists  could  be  put  down  the  whole  North  would 
be  held  responsible.  The  immediate  effect  of  the  agita- 
tion seemed  to  strengthen  the  institution  of  slavery.  The 
South  felt  driven  to  its  defence.  The  slave  codes  of  the 
Southern  States  were  made  more  drastic;  voluntary- 
emancipation  was  restrained ;  the  life  of  free  colored  peo- 
ple in  the  South  was  made  more  intolerable;  demands 
were  increased  for  the  return  of  fugitive  slaves;  public 
prices  were  set  upon  the  heads  of  prominent  Abolition- 
ists; and  Southern  public  men,  instead  of  speaking  of 
slavery  as  a  social  and  political  evil,  came  now  to  defend 
slavery  as  a  **positive  good,"  "the  most  perfect  system 
of  social  and  political  happiness  that  ever  existed  "  ;  "in- 
stead of  being  a  political  evil,  domestic  slavery  is  the 
corner-stone  of  our  republican  edifice."  * 

In  the  country  at  large  the  Abolitionists  were  met  with 
obloquy  and  violence.  Their  meetings  were  disturbed, 
I  Resistance  to  their  Speakers  were  egged  and  stoned,  and  their 
AboUtionism.  constitutional  rights  of  free  assembly,  free  pe- 
tition, free  press,  and  free  speech  were  denied  them. 
Birney's  meetings  were  broken  up.  Garrison  was  mobbed, 
Lovejoy  was  killed,  and  John  Quincy  Adams  and  Joshua 
R.  Giddings  were  bound  by  gag  rules  while  struggling  in 
the  House  of  Representatives  in  defence  of  the  right  of 
petition  and  the  freedom  of  debate.  These  persecutions 
and  denials  of  constitutional  rights  made  martyrs  of  the 
Abolitionists  and  multiplied  converts  and  recruits  to 
their  ranks.  They  ceased  to  be  mere  champions  of  aboli- 
tion. In  view  of  the  violent  outrages  heaped  upon  them, 
it  now  seemed  to  more  moderate  men  that  in  the  persons 

'  MacDuffie's  message.  See  also  the  speeches  of  Calhoun  and  the  **  Cor- 
ner-Stone  Speech  "  of  Alexander  Ut  Stephens,  in  i86i. 


The  Abolitionists  and  the  Liberty  Party    55 

of  the  Abolitionists  "the  most  sacred  rights  of  freemen 
had  been  assailed.  They  were  sufferers  for  the  liberty 
of  thought,  speech,  and  press,  and  in  maintaining  this  lib- 
erty against  insult  and  violence  they  won  for  themselves 
an  honored  place  among  defenders  of  American  liberty."  * 

In  spite  of  the  fiercest  and  most  raging  opposition  that 
any  cause  ever  encountered,  the  Abolitionists  steadily  and 
rapidly  increased  in  numbers.  Within  nine  Growth  of 
years  after  the  organization  of  their  first  society  Aboutionism. 
there  were  two  thousand  anti-slavery  societies,  with  two 
hundred  thousand  members.  They  were  consecrated  to 
their  cause,  being  ready  to  seal  their  testimony  with  their 
lives,  and  many  of  them  sacrificed  property,  home,  and 
friendship,  and  even  life  itself  for  the  slave.  In  the  face 
of  the  furious  opposition  which  they  had  excited  they 
would  pursue  their  way,  stand  bravely  and  persistently 
for  their  rights,  and  let  the  heathen  rage !  It  was  by  such 
devotion,  not  to  say  heroism,  that  the  moral  foundations 
were  laid  on  which  a  party  was  to  rise  to  power  to  resist 
the  aggressions  of  slavery. 

The  increase  in  the  anti-slavery  forces  was  caused  not 
so  much  by  the  agitation  and  arguments  of  the  Abolition- 
ists themselves  as  by  the  progress  of  events.  Among 
these  events  the  dominant  fact  in  the  decade  between 
1835  and  1845  was  the  movement  for  the  annexation  of 
Texas.  With  the  question  of  territorial  expansion  was 
inseparably  connected  the  extension  of  excessive  and  in- 
equitable political  power  that  came  to  slaveholders  by 
their  three-fifths  representation  for  their  slaves.  This  led 
many  anti-slavery  politicians  to  resist  slavery  extension 
from  political  as  well  as  from  moral  consider-  AboUtion 
ations.     Before  the  movement  for  Texas  was  ScWsm. 

fully  under  way  Abolitionism  had  passed  from  1839-40. 
being  merely  a  moral  agitation  into  a  political  force.  In 
so  passing  from  the  field  of  morals  and  religion  into  the 
*  William  EUery  Channing,  letter  to  Bimey,  1836,  Works. 


56    Political  Parties  and  Party  Problems 

field  of  politics  there  occurred  the  Abolition  schism  of 
1840.  In  that  year  the  American  Anti-Slavery  Society 
was  rent  into  factions. 

By  this  year  (1840)  the  aggressive  anti-slavery  forces  are 
to  be  distinguished  in  three  groups. 

I.  The  Garrisonian  Abolitionists.  2.  The  Liberty 
Party  Abolitionists.  3.  The  Anti-Slavery  men  of  abo- 
lition proclivities  who  for  some  time  remained  in  affilia- 
tion with  other  parties. 

The  Garrisonians  formed  "an  extreme  small  wing  "  of 
the  Abolitionists.  These  were  the  fanatical  radicals.  In 
The  1840,   the  Garrisonians,  in  opposition  to  the 

Garrisonians.  morc  moderate  Abolitionists,  became  identi- 
fied with  many  other  moral  and  social  movements,  and  this 
tended  to  divide  the  American  Anti-Slavery  Society,  by 
connecting  it,  or  its  members,  as  some  thought,  with  vari- 
ous hobbies  and  fads.'  Woman's  rights,  perfectionism, 
anti-church,  anti-clergy,  anti-Sabbath,  anti-marriage, — 
these  terms  indicate  the  radical  and  eccentric  ideas  to  which 
the  Garrisonians  were  more  or  less  committed.  Finding 
in  Church  and  State,  not  co-operation  and  favor  for  his 
cause,  but  hostility  and  persecution  rather.  Garrison  be- 
came hostile  to  both  these  institutions.  He  denounced 
the  Church  and  the  clergy  as  immoral.  He  and  his  fol- 
lowers were  the  disunion  Abolitionists;  they  denounced 
the  Constitution,  contended  for  abstract  and  absolute  right- 
eousness according  to  their  own  canons,  and  they  refused 
all  co-operation  with  any  one  who  would  not  go  the  full 
length  of  their  extreme  positions.  **No  union  with  slave- 
holders,** **The  Constitution  is  a  covenant  with  death  and 
an  agreement  with  hell !  '*  These  are  familiar  Garrisonian 
maxims.  Garrison's  followers  became  committed  to  the 
non-coercion,  non-resistance,  no-government  theory  in 
politics,  like  theoretical  anarchists.  They  refused  to  vote  or 
to  act  with  others  for  political  ends.  They  hoped  to  reform 

*  Birney's  Birney. 


The  Abolitionists  and  the  Liberty  Party    57 

the  Government  by  renouncing  all  connection  with  it ;  to 
remove  political  evils  by  refusing  all  association  with  po- 
litical parties.  They  claimed  to  rely  on  moral  suasion 
alone,  on  appeals  to  the  consciences  of  the  people.  They 
were  typical  "come-outers,"  seceders,  and  non-conform- 
ists, especially  resisting  all  the  ordinary  associated  means 
of  political  action. 

Of  the  anti-slavery  forces  aroused  to  action  by  the  re- 
vival between  1830  and  1840  only  a  very  small  part  were 
"Garrisonians,'*  probably  not  more  than  one  fifth  of  the 
members  of  the  anti-slavery  societies  existing  at  the  time 
of  the  schism  of  1840.*  Nor  did  they  increase  in  numbers 
or  influence  during  the  next  twenty  years.  Their  fidelity, 
devotion,  courage,  conviction,  persistency,  and  energy 
were  unexcelled,  and  these  qualities  may  have  given  them 
an  influence  out  of  all  proportion  to  their  numbers. 
These  factors  also,  in  addition  to  the  designs  of  their  pro- 
slavery  opponents,  brought  it  to  pass  that  the  term  "Abo- 
litionist" became  identical  with  this  small  band  of  fanatical 
agitators.  It  was  the  wild  vagaries  and  the  desocializing 
attitude  of  this  extreme  group  that  brought  such  oppro- 
brium to  the  name  "Abolitionist,"  and  it  was  this  that 
led  the  later  and  really  forceful  leaders  of  the  anti-slavery 
movement,  like  Seward,  Chase,  and  Lincoln,  always  to 
deny  that  they  were  ever  Abolitionists  of  the  Garrison 
stripe.  No  anti-slavery  statesman  or  politician  was,  of 
course,  a  Garrisonian.  And  of  the  nearly  two  million 
voters  who,  between  1856  and  i860,  fought  the  good 
fight  that  the  Republic  might  be  all  free,  the  Garrisonian 
Abolitionists  were  but  a  mere  handful. 

Very  different  were  the  men  of  the  Liberty  party. 
These  were  the  political  Abolitionists  who  believed  in  the 
formation  of  a  third  party  to  promote  their  The  Liberty 
cause.     These  men  believed  in  keeping  clear  of  p*^- 

entanglements  with  other  causes.     Abolitionism  was  the 

*  Wilson's  Slave  Power,  vol.  i. 


58    Political  Parties  and  Party  Problems 

only  ism  they  had  organized  to  promote.  To  promote 
this  cause  they  thought  they  were  justified  in  voting, 
holding  office,  and  in  organizing  a  separate  party  machine. 
These  were  Abolitionists  like  Birney,  Whittier,  the  Tap- 
pans,  Gerritt  Smith,  and,  later,  Salmon  P.  Chase,  Gid- 
dings,  Hale,  and  Julian.  Many  joined  the  party  in  1844 
who  did  not  believe  in  its  necessity  or  wisdom  in  1840. 
The  party  cast  but  seven  thousand  votes  for  Birney  in 
1840,  but  they  increased  their  voting  strength  to  sixty- 
two  thousand,  again  for  Birney,  in  1844. 

The  Liberty  party,  in  its  purpose,  was  a  national,  not 
a  sectional,  party.  It  asserted  that  it  was  organized,  not 
merely  for  the  overthrow  of  slavery,  but  for  the  vindica- 
tion of  the  great  underlying  principle  of  democracy, 
equality  of  human  rights.  Equality  of  human  rights  was 
in  harmony  with  the  spirit  of  American  liberty,  and  the 
"true  spirit  of  the  Constitution."  Slavery  was  the 
greatest  and  immediate  obstacle  to  the  realization  of 
this  noble  ideal  of  the  Declaration  of  Independence  and 
the  Constitution.  On  that  subject  the  Liberty  party 
asserted : 

**  That  there  should  be  absolute  and  unqualified  divorce- 
ment of  the  General  Government  from  slavery. 

**  That  slavery  is  strictly  local  and  rests  only  on  State  legis- 
lation. All  slavery  within  the  limits  of  national  jurisdiction 
should  be  abolished. 

*  *  That  the  General  Government  has  no  power  to  establish  or 
continue  slavery  anywhere.  All  treaties,  or  acts  of  Congress, 
continuing  or  favoring  slavery  in  the  District  of  Columbia  or 
the  national  territory  (Florida)  are  unconstitutional." 

Thus  the  Liberty  party  held  slavery  to  be  a  creature  of 
State  law ;  it  was  sustained,  not  by  the  common  law,  nor 
by  the  law  of  the  Constitution,  but  only  by  positive  en- 
actments within  the  States  which  admit  and  sanction 
it.     The  Constitution  is  an  instrument  of  liberty.     The 


The  Abolitionists  and  the  Liberty  Party    59 

nation  is  non-slaveholding,  and  all  patronage  and  sup- 
port hitherto  extended  to  slavery  by  the  National  Gov- 
ernment should  be  withdrawn,  and  the  influence  of  the 
national  authority  everywhere  ought  to  be  arrayed  on  the 
side  of  liberty  and  free  labor. 

The  third  wing  of  the  positive  anti-slavery  forces  in  1840 
and  1844  were  the  political  Abolitionists  who  yet  thought 
the  formation  of  a  third  party  was  inexpedient,  pouticaj  Abou- 
These  readily  accepted  the  general  principle  tionists  in  the 
underlying  the  contention  of  the  Liberty  party :  ^^^  Parties. 
That  slavery  was  sectional,  freedom  national;  that  re- 
sponsibility was  co-extensive  with  power ;  that  wherever 
the  National  Government  had  power  over  slavery,  wher- 
ever it  was  in  any  way  responsible  for  it,  there  that 
power  and  responsibility  should  be  exercised  for  its  re- 
straint and  extinction.  Opposition,  not  support,  should 
be  the  national  policy.  Slavery  was  not  to  be  looked 
upon  merely  as  an  inconvenience  about  which  the  nation 
could  be  indifferent.  It  was  not  an  ordinary  "domestic 
institution  "  (a  misleading  and  deceitful  euphony)  en- 
titled to  national  protection  and  patronage.  But  slavery 
was  to  be  regarded  rather  as  a  blighting  and  ruinous  evil, 
a  great  wrong,  a  fearful  and  barbarous  power,  which  was 
now  fighting,  not  only  for  security  at  home,  but  for  ex- 
pansion and  empire  within  the  nation.  As  such  it  should 
be  everywhere  opposed. 

These  were  bedrock  and  enduring  principles,  and  they 
formed  the  moral  basis  on  which  the  conflict  against  slav- 
ery was  fought  to  a  finish.  The  issue  thrust  Liberty 
into  American  politics  by  the  Liberty  party  in  Principles. 
1840  was  essentially  this :  Who  shall  control  the  National 
Government, — those  who  believe  that  slavery  is  right  and 
wish  to  fortify,  defend,  and  extend  it,  or  those  who  be- 
lieve it  is  wrong  and  wish  to  prevent  and  restrict  it? 
Lincoln  recognized  and  defined  this  issue  nearly  twenty 
years  later : 


6o    Political  Parties  and  Party  Problems 

*  *  We  want  and  must  have  a  national  policy  as  to  slavery 
which  deals  with  it  as  being  a  wrong.  Whoever  would  prevent 
slavery  becoming  national  and  perpetual  yields  all  when  he 
yields  to  a  policy  which  treats  it  either  as  being  right,  or  as 
being  a  matter  of  indifference.  We  admit  that  the  United 
States  Government  is  not  charged  with  the  duty  of  righting  or 
preventing  all  the  wrongs  in  the  world.  But  the  government 
rightfully  may,  and,  subject  to  the  Constitution,  ought  to, 
redress  and  prevent  all  wrongs  which  are  wrongs  to  the  nation 
itself.  It  is  expressly  charged  with  the  duty  of  providing  for 
the  general  welfare.  We  think  slavery  impairs  and  endangers 
the  general  welfare.  Those  who  do  not  think  this  are  not  of 
us  and  we  cannot  agree  with  them.  We  must  shape  our  own 
course  by  our  own  judgment."  * 

This  was  clearly  a  defensible  position.     But  there  were 

those  among  the  Liberty  party  men  who  went  farther. 

,    In  their  desire  to  hold  to  the  Constitution  as  an 

Attitude  of  the  . 

Liberty  Party  anti-slavery,  or  at  least  as  a  non-slavery,  mstru- 
ftrlS^ve*  ment,  they  asserted  that  the  principles  of  the 
Clauses  of  the  Declaration  of  Independence,  by  which  all  had 
Constitution,  the  **  inalienable  right  to  life,  liberty,  and  the 
pursuit  of  happiness,"  had  become  constitutional  law.  On 
the  basis  of  the  amendments  guaranteeing  the  inviolability 
of  free  speech,  free  press,  free  petition,  free  trial  by  jury, 
and  guaranteeing  that  **no  person  shall  be  deprived  of  life, 
liberty,  or  property  without  due  process  of  law,"  they  de- 
clared that  the  clauses  of  the  Constitution  allowing  repre- 
sentation for  three  fifths  of  the  slaves  and  providing  for 
the  rendition  of  fugitive  slaves,  were  anti-republican  and 
ought  to  be  abrogated.  Whereas,  they  said,  "we  should 
obey  God  rather  than  man;  whereas,  the  fugitive  slave 
clause  binds  us  to  violate  a  principle  of  universal  morality ; 
whereas,  it  is  a  principle  of  common  law  that  any  con- 
tract or  agreement  to  do  an  act  derogatory  to  natural 
right  is  vitiated  and  annulled  by  its  inherent  immorality, 

*  Lincoln,  1859,  December  3-5,  Works,  vol.  i.,  p.  593. 


The  Abolitionists  and  the  Liberty  Party    6i 

we  therefore  give  notice  to  the  nation  and  the  world  that 
we  regard  the  fugitive  slave  clause  as  'utterly  null  and 
void  and,  consequently,  as  forming  no  part  of  the  Consti- 
tution whenever  we  are  called  upon  or  sworn  to  support 
it.'  " 

This  was  the  convenient  plea  by  which  the  Liberty 
men  proposed  to  abrogate  that  part  of  the  Constitution 
which  they  did  not  like.  It  was  the  first  announcement 
of  the  *  *  higher  law, '  * — that  there  was  a  law  higher  than 
the  Constitution,  and  that  whenever  the  Constitution 
contravened  this  higher  moral  law  they  would  disregard 
the  Constitution.  This  was  of  the  spirit  of  the  Gar- 
risonians,  the  pure  moralists.  Whether  this  extreme 
position  was  defensible  was  a  moral  rather  than  a  consti- 
tutional question,  but  it  had  at  least  the  merit  of  candor 
and  honesty. 

While  the  demands  and  principles  of  the  Liberty  party 
on  slavery  contained  more  than  the  platform  on  which  the 
anti-slavery  cause  was  finally  won,  the  party  ^^^  character 
should  be  given  the  credit  of  being  the  first  to  of  the  Liberty 
formulate  the  cardinal  political  principles,  as  ap-  ^^^  ^*^" 
plied  to  slavery,  around  which  the  great  Republican  party 
was  finally  gathered  for  victory.  The  Liberty  men  are 
not  to  be  regarded,  as  were  the  Garrisonians,  as  a  set  of 
impracticables.  Their  opponents  looked  upon  them  as 
formidable  antagonists,  and  Calhoun  recognized  in  their 
course  the  greatest  menace  to  the  slave  system.  They 
had  among  them  able  lawyers  and  men  of  political  sense 
and  sagacity.  They  constantly  held  their  party  subordi- 
nate to  their  cause ;  to  them  party  was  always  a  means, 
not  an  end.  They  easily  and  consistently  merged  with 
the  Free-Soilers  in  1848  and  with  the  Republicans  in 
1856.  In  1844,  holding  the  balance  of  power  in  New 
York  State,  they  exercised  a  decisive  influence  in  politics. 
Their  fifteen  thousand  votes  cast  in  that  State  for  Birney 
were  mostly  withdrawn   from  Clay,  and  the  result  was 


62    Political  Parties  and  Party  Problems 

that  Polk,  an  avowed  annexationist,  carried  the  State  by 
the  "lean  plurality  of  five  thousand  votes"  and  was 
elected  to  the  presidency.  The  Liberty  men  have  gen- 
erally been  reproached  for  the  course  they  then  pursued.* 
They  are  accused  of  responsibility  for  slavery 
Liberty  Party  extension  in  permitting  the  annexation  of 
f^rsuvl^*'  Texas  by  causing  the  defeat  of  Clay.  But  it  is 
Extension,  pure  assumption  to  assert  that  the  course  of 
^  ^  our  history  with  reference  to  Texas  would  have 

been  materially  different  had  Clay  been  elected  instead  of 
Polk.  Mr.  Rhodes  expresses  the  judgment  that  Clay's 
election  *  *  would  certainly  postpone,  and  might  defeat,  the 
project  of  annexation."  It  does  not  seem  to  me  that 
this  conclusion  is  sustained  by  the  facts  in  the  situation. 
Texas  was  annexed  under  Tyler ;  and  if  it  be  said  that 
Polk's  election  was  held  by  Tyler  as  a  popular  mandate 
for  that  policy,  it  can  by  no  means  be  said  that  Tyler 
would  have  construed  Clay's  election  as  a  mandate 
against  it.  The  majority  of  the  country  evidently  favored 
annexation,  the  South  partly  on  account  of  slavery,  and 
a  large  part  of  the  North  on  other  accounts.  The  Dem- 
ocrats were  well  united  on  the  issue  and  they  forced  the 
fighting.  But  the  Whigs  were  not  united  in  opposition, 
as  Clay's  apparent  willingness  to  appear  for  annexation  in 
the  South,  but  against  it  in  the  North,  clearly  indicates. 
There  is  no  ground  for  the  assumption  that  Greeley,  Gid- 
dings,  Seward,  and  the  abolition  Whigs  of  the  North  rep- 
resented the  party.  Clay  represented  the  party.  The 
sagacity  of  the  Liberty  men  can  hardly  be  impeached  for 
refusing  to  commit  their  cause  to  Clay,  who  had  said 
that  "personally  he  would  be  glad  to  see  Texas  annexed," 
and  that  in  any  case  annexation  ought  to  be  considered 
without  reference  to  its  bearing  on  slavery.  Certainly 
Clay  could  not  have  been  trusted  to  resist  annexation. 

*  Greeley  says  the  Liberty  votes  were  '*  votes  thrown  away  on  Bimey," 
and  Rhodes  that  a  *'  vote  for  Bimey  was  indirectly  a  vote  for  Polk.** 


The  Abolitionists  and  the  Liberty  Party    63 

The  strictures  on  the  Liberty  men  are  made  on  the  as- 
sumption that  Clay  and  the  Whigs  were  opposed  to 
slavery.  Thurlow  Weed's  remark  in  i860,  ciayand 
that  "the  Whig  party  was  always  opposed  to  slavery 

slavery, "' seems  somewhat  grotesque  in  the  Extension, 
light  of  the  party's  reqprd.  Just  when,  where,  or  how  the 
Whig  party  was  opposed  to  slavery  no  historical  writer  has 
ever  attempted  to  explain.  Clay  was  like  the  Whigs  whom 
he  led, — he  was  in  a  strait  betwixt  two,  without  reliable 
political  convictions  or  fixed  political  purposes  on  the 
subject  of  slavery.  Some  Whigs  were  opposed  to  sla- 
very, but  Clay  was  not  one  of  them.  He  was  a  slave- 
holder who  had  favored  slavery  extension  in  1820  in  order 
to  *  *  dilute  the  evil. ' '  What  opposition  he  had  expressed 
to  the  annexation  of  Texas  had  no  reference  to  the  in- 
terests of  the  anti-slavery  cause,  and  in  the  face  of  the 
first  pressure  that  confronted  him  he  virtually  withdrew 
what  he  had  said.  Clay  was  a  "Union-Saver,"  one  of 
that  group  of  men  who  were  at  all  times  ready  .<  union- 
to  sacrifice  the  freedom  of  the  slave,  or  the  Savers.- 
cause  of  freedom  in  the  Territories,  if  such  a  course  seemed 
at  all  necessary,  in  order  to  preserve  the  Union.  They 
may  have  preferred  the  Union  without  slavery,  though 
as  a  rule  their  anti-slavery  consciences  were  easy  to  sat- 
isfy. They  were  for  justice,  if  possible  or  convenient; 
but,  as  is  evident  from  their  compromising  habit,  they 
were  for  peace  on  slavery  at  any  price.  The  most  sacred 
thing  in  their  eyes  was  the  "compromises  of  the  Constitu- 
tion," and  all  their  energies  were  bent  toward  preserving 
the  Union  as  it  was,  half  slave  and  half  free.  It  was  evi- 
dent that  the  slavery  question  could  not  be  settled  on  its 
merits  within  the  Union  so  long  as  panic  and  fear  were  to 
dominate  the  minds  of  the  people  at  every  threat  of 
secession  and  dissolution.  There  was  no  limit  to  the 
concessions  the  "Union-saving"  Whigs  and  Democrats 

*  Autobiography,  vol.  ii.,  p.  306. 


64    Political  Parties  and  Party  Problems 

would  have  been  willing  to  make  as  the  alternative  of  a 
disruption  of  the  Union.'  The  bold  Southern  leaders  like 
Calhoun  saw  this,  and  in  discussing  the  slavery  question 
they  offered  the  alternative  of  an  unconditional  submis- 
sion or  the  dissolution  of  the  Union.  The  conduct  of  the 
"Union-saving"  Whigs,  who  controlled  and  led  the  party, 
misled  the  South  to  believe  that  the  North  would  regard 
no  concession  too  great  in  order  to  avoid  this  extremity.' 
It  is  plain  from  Clay's  career,  and  from  the  subsequent 
career  of  his  party,  that  upon  the  subject  of  slavery  he 
would  have  moved  in  the  line  of  least  resistance.  Had 
he  presumed  to  oppose  the  incoming  of  Texas  the  South 
had  only  to  threaten  disunion  to  induce  him  to  yield. 

'  Rufus  Choate  urged  that  the  return  to  slavery  of  fugitive  slaves  was  an 
insignificant  sacrifice  on  the  altar  of  the  Union  as  compared  to  the  heca- 
tombs to  be  sacrificed  through  civil  convulsions. — Adams's  Life  of  C  F, 
Adams^  pp.  59-60. 

*See  Von  Hoist,  vol.  iii.,  pp.  315-3x6. 


CHAPTER  VI 

THE   FREE-SOILERS 

THE  Free-Soilers  were  more  nearly  than  the  Liberty- 
men  the  forerunners  of  the  Republicans.  The  record 
of  the  Liberty  party  shows  clearly  that  the  The  Free- 
movement  against  slavery  proceeded  along  two  Soiiers. 
lines,  moral  and  political.  The  earnest  anti-slavery  men  in 
all  parties,  or  in  none,  kept  up  the  agitation,  in  literature 
and  song,  on  the  platform,  in  the  pulpit,  and  in  the  press. 
The  growing  evils  and  aggressions  of  slavery,  its  arro- 
gant spirit  and  its  attempt  to  prevent  discussion,  came 
very  forcibly  to  their  aid.  But  mere  moral  appeals ,  for 
abolition,  or  for  immediate  emancipation,  could  not  arouse 
the  people  of  the  North — of  Connecticut  or  Michigan,  for 
instance — to,oi'ganize  themselves  for  the  purpose  of  put- 
ting out  the  fires  of  slavery  in  Louisiana  or  Georgia. 
The  Yankee  in  the  North  felt  that  he  was  not  responsible 
for  slavery  in  Louisiana  or  Georgia.  But  the  successful 
movement  for  the  annexation  of  Texas,  followed  by  the 
Mexican  War,  with  the  certainty  of  increased  territory, 
changed  the  aspect  of  the  question.  It  then  became  a 
question  not  of  abolition  but  of  restriction.  Men  whose 
ears  were  closed  to  arguments  for  the  abolition  of  slavery, 
for  which  they  felt  no  responsibility  and  over  which  they 
had  no  control,  were  yet  quite  sensitive  to  pleas  against 
the  extension  of  slavery  to  the  national  Territories  under 
the  protection  and  the  auspices  of  the  national  power.    In 

65 


66    Political  Parties  and  Party  Problems 

1846,  in  anticipation  of  negotiations  looking  to  increased 
territory  following  the  Mexican  War,  to  the  bill  appropri- 
ating $3,000,000  for  use  by  the  President  in  purchasing 
territory  from  Mexico  David  Wilmot,  a  Democratic 
Representative  from  Pennsylvania,  offered  his  famous 
proviso  that  neither  **  slavery  nor  involuntary  servitude  " 
should  ever  exist  in  any  territory  to  be  ceded  by  Mexico. 
This  was  the  central  principle  on  which  the  Republican 
party  was  subsequently  formed.  It  was  the  principle  to 
which  the  anti-slavery  Whigs  and  anti-slavery  Democrats 
endeavored  to  commit  their  respective  parties.  Failing 
in  this,  they  left  their  parties  and,  sinking  previous  and 
minor  differences,  they  merged  with  the  Liberty  men 
into  the  Free-Soil  party. 

The  Free-Soilers  who  came  out  from  the  Whigs  were 
sometimes  called,  especially  in  Massachusetts,  the  "Con- 
"  Conscience  scicnce  Whigs."  On  the  subject  of  slavery 
'^^^^^•"  their  consciences  were  too  tender  for  their 
party  managers.  They  were  ready  to  give  up  their 
party,  they  were  even  ready  to  see  their  party  leaders 
defeated  for  office,  rather  than  to  swerve  from  a  course  to 
"Old-Line"  "^^^^^  their  consciences  impelled  them.  The 
or  "Cotton  **old-line  *'  Whigs,  sometimes  called  by  their 
^^'  opponents  the  ** Cotton  Whigs,"  because,  as 

was  charged,  they  wished  to  avoid  the  slavery  question 
in  order  not  to  injure  the  cotton  trade,  desired  to  commit 
the  party  to  economic  issues  alone,  as  the  best  means  of 
preserving  the  harmony  of  the  Whig  party  and  the  integ- 
rity of  the  Union.  They  were  for  **our  country  however 
bounded,"  and  were  therefore  not  opposed  to  expansion 
merely  from  fear  that  expansion  might  increase  the  slave 
area,  and  they  were  opposed  to  committing  the  party  to 
the  Wilmot  Proviso.  They  were  led  by  men  like  Web- 
ster, Clay,  Choate,  Winthrop,  Corwin,  and  Fillmore. 
The  ** Conscience  Whigs"  were  determined  to  resist  at 
all  hazard  the  further  extension  of  slave  territory.     They 


The  Free-Soilers  67 

were  led  by  men  like  John  G.  Palfrey,  Charles  Francis 
Adams,  John  A.  Andrew,  Henry  Wilson,  Charles  Sum- 
ner, E.  Rockwood  Hoar,  R.  H.  Dana,  George  W.  Julian, 
and  Joshua  R.  Giddings.  They  objected  to  the  spread 
of  slavery,  not  only  because  that  would  tend  to  perpetu- 
ate and  increase  the  slave  trade  and  the  other  moral  and 
social  evils  of  slavery,  but  because  such  expansion  would 
add  greatly  to  the  political  power  of  the  slaveholders. 
These  men  were  determined,  if  possible,  to  commit  the 
Whig  party  against  slavery.  Sumner  wrote  to  Webster, 
beseeching  him  to  place  himself  at  the  head  of  the  Whig 
party  and  commit  the  party  definitely  to  an  anti-slavery 
policy, — to  make  it  a  great  national  party  of  freedom. 
Webster  politely  refused.  It  was  for  the  course  that 
Webster  then  pursued,  subsequently  voiced  in  his  Sev- 
enth-of-March  Speech,  that  Motley  spoke  of  him  as  "that 
golden-headed  but  clay-footed  image,"  and  that  Emerson 
wrote  of  him:  "Mr.  Webster  is  only  following  the  laws 
of  his  blood  and  constitution.  He  is  a  man  Webster's 
who  lives  by  his  memory ;  a  man  of  the  past.  Conservatism, 
not  a  man  of  faith  and  hope."  The  moralist  felt  that  the 
party  cause  of  the  future  was  to  be  found  in  positive  re- 
sistance to  slavery  extension,  and  that  Webster  and  the 
"old-line  "  Whigs  were  not  the  men  for  the  hour. 

In  the  Massachusetts  Whig  Convention  of  September 
26,  1846,  Sumner,  speaking  for  the  "Conscience  Whigs," 
ure^ed  it  as  the  duty  of  the  party  to  give  open 

,      ,.      .  ^     .  .       -^      ,  ^    ,  The  Whig 

and  distmct  expression  agamst  slavery,  not  organization 
only  ag-ainst  its  further  extension,  but  against    ^s.  the  whig 

,  .       '  .         .  Conscience. 

Its  longer  continuance  under  the  Constitution 
and  laws  of  the  Union."  Winthrop  replied,  urging  the 
tariff,  public  economy,  and  internal  improvements,  as  the 
economic  issues  on  which  the  Whigs  were  united  to  do 
battle.  This  was  a  representative  collision,  and  the  anti- 
slavery  men  were  defeated  in  the  making  of  the  platform. 
The  course  that  was  seemingly  expedient  and  morally 


68    Political  Parties  and  Party  Problems 

indifferent  had  won.  Upon  hearing  of  this  result,  Whit- 
tier  spoke  in  one  of  his  Voices  of  Freedomy  giving  expres- 
sion to  the  Free-Soil  conscience  that  was  impelling  the 
disruption  of  the  Whig  party : 

"  Tell  us  not  of  Banks  and  Tariffs, — cease  your  paltry  peddler 
cries, — 
Shall  the  good  State  sink  her  honor  that   your  gambling 

stocks  may  rise  ? 
Would  ye  barter  man  for  cotton  ? — that  your  gains  may  sum 

up  higher. 
Must  we  kiss  the  feet  of  Moloch,  pass  our  children  through 

the  fire  ? 
Is  the  dollar  only  real  ? — God  and  truth  and  right  a  dream  ? 
Weighed  against  your  lying  ledgers  must  our  manhood  kick 

the  beam  ? 

**  Sons  of  men  who  sat  in  council  with  their  Bibles  round  the 
board. 

Answering  England's  royal  missive  with  a  firm,  *  Thus  saith 
the  Lord ! ' 

Rise  again  for  home  and  freedom! — set  the  battle  in  array; 

What  the  fathers  did  of  old  time  we  their  sons  must  do  to- 
day." » 

The  poet  as  well  as  the  moralist  wa$  calling  for  moral 
leadership,  and  the  spirits  of  men  were  being  stirred  for 
moral  conflict. 

In  spite  of  their  defeat  in  Massachusetts  the  "Con- 
science Whigs'*  were  determined  to  make  opposition  to 
Free-Soil  Se-  ^^^  extension  of  slavery  a  political  test  in  the 
cession  from  presidential  contest  of  1848.  They  proposed  to 
the  Whigs.  support  no  candidates  for  President  and  Vice- 
President  but  such  as  were  known  to  oppose  slavery  ex- 
tension. **The  sacramental  sanction  of  a  regular  nomina- 
tion' '  would  not  suffice.  *  *  We  cannot  say,  with  detestable 
morality,  *  Our  party  right  or  wrong. '     Loyalty  to  prin- 

»  The  Pine-Tree, 


The  Free-Soilers  69 

ciple  is  higher  than  loyalty  to  party.  *  *  *  When,  therefore, 
in  1848,  the  Whig  National  Convention  voted  down  the 
Wilmot  Proviso,  Henry  Wilson  announced  the  revolt  of 
the  anti-slavery  Whigs.  To  these  men  the  slavery  ques- 
tion had  now  assumed  an  aspect  not  within  the  range  of 
expediency  and  compromise.  "To  be  wrong  on  this  was 
to  be  wholly  wrong, ' '  as  Sumner  expressed  it. 

There  was  also  resistance  to  Democratic  acquiescence 
in  slavery  and  a  corresponding  schism  in  that  party. 
Polk's  nomination  and  election  in  1844  caused  grief  and 
disappointment  to  thousands  of  Democrats  who  were 
opposed  to  the  annexation  of  Texas  and  to  the  extension 
of  slavery.  Van  Buren  was  defeated  for  the  party  nomi- 
nation in  1844  by  sharp  practice,  because  as  President  he 
had  obstructed  annexation,  and  as  a  candidate  he  had 
given  positive  expression  against  it.  Upon  his  defeat  for 
the  nomination,  William  Cullen  Bryant,  David  Dudley 
Field,  and  other  Van  Buren  Democrats  in  New  York, 
while  loyally  supporting  Polk,  urged  the  choice  of  Con- 
gressmen opposed  to  annexation.  Silas  Wright,  the  lieu- 
tenant and  close  friend  of  Van  Buren,  who  had  refused  to 
accept  second  place  with  Polk,  accepted  his  party  nomi- 
nation for  the  governorship  of  New  York.  Wright's 
popularity  contributed  materially  to  Polk's  success  in 
New  York,  though  Wright  ran  ahead  of  his  national  ticket. 

The  two  contending  factions  of  the  Democracy  in  New 
York  became  known  as  the  "Hunkers  "  and  the  "Barn- 
burners." The  "Hunkers"  were  the  "old- 
line"  regulars,  the  "slow,  plodding  conserva- 
tives," the  supporters  of  annexation,  those  ready  to  com- 
bine with  the  Southern  Democracy  in  order  to  defeat  Van 
Buren ;  who  relied  mainly  on  patronage  and  spoils  for  a 
motive  to  maintain  a  party  organization  and  to  promote 
party  success, — "respectable,  dull  men  of  easy  con- 
sciences "  whose  most  marked  characteristic,  according 

*  Storey's  Summr,  p.  55, 


JO    Political  Parties  and  Party  Problems 

to  their  opponents,  was  their  hankering  after  the  emolu- 
ments of  office.  Men  of  this  kind  were  called  by  the 
anti-slavery  men  *' Dough-Faces/*  " Slavocrats, "  or 
"Northern  men  with  Southern  principles."  Marcy  and 
Dickinson  of  New  York  were  types  of  leading  "Hun- 
kers," honorable  men  who  were  unmoved  by  abolition 
noise. 

When  the  Wilmot  Proviso  came  up  in  Congress  it  was 
supported  there,  not  only  by  the  New  York  Whigs,  but 
"  Soft  by  all  the  New  York  Democrats,  following  the 

Hunkers."  leadership  of  Van  Buren.  A  resolution  favor- 
ing the  Wilmot  Proviso  was  carried  in  the  New  York 
legislature  by  the  Van  Buren  Democrats  and  the  "Soft 
Hunkers,"  the  latter  being  less  friendly  to  the  extension 
of  slavery  than  the  "Hard  Hunkers."  Polk,  Marcy,  and 
Dickinson,  angered  at  the  Democratic  opposition  in  New 
York  to  the  pro-slaver)^  Mexican  policy  of  the  Administra- 
tion, threw  all  the  weight  of  the  Federal  patronage  against 
the  Van  Buren  Democrats.  In  1847,  i^^  the  New  York 
State  Democratic  Convention  at  Syracuse,  occurred  a 
struggle  corresponding  to  that  in  the  Whig  Convention 
of  Massachusetts  of  1846.'  David  Dudley  Field,  leading 
the  anti-slavery  Democrats,  proposed  a  resolution,  that 
The  New  "while  the  Democracy  of  New  York  would 
York  faithfully  adhere  to  the  Constitution  and  main- 

Barnburners.  ^^j^  ^j^^  reserved  rights  of  the  State  they  would 
still  declare  their  uncompromising  hostility  to  the  exten- 
sion of  slavery  into  territory  now  free."  Upon  the 
defeat  of  this  resolution  by  Hunker  office-holders,  the 
anti-slavery  Democrats  walked  out.  They  resolved  to 
cut  loose  from  and  defy  the  Administration  and  the  State 
machine,  and  to  appeal  to  the  National  Convention  of  the 
party.  These  were  the  "Barnburners."  Their  nick- 
name came  from  their  supposed  resemblance  to  the  Dutch 
farmer,  who,  troubled  with  the  rats  in  his  barn  and  swear- 

»P.  67. 


The  Free-Soilers  71 

ing  that  he  would  be  rid  of  them,  finally  resorted  to  the 
extreme  expedient  of  burning  his  barn  to  get  rid  of  the 
pestiferous  rats.*  They  were  resolved,  like  the  Con- 
science Whigs,  to  be  anti-slavery  men  first  and  party 
men  afterwards,  and  to  abandon  their  party  if  it  were  to 
be  given  over  to  the  pest  of  slavery. 

The  Barnburners  charged  fraud  in  the  defeat  of  their 
anti-slavery  resolution  at  Syracuse,  and  they  called  a  con- 
vention of  their  own  at  Herkimer  to  speak  for  the  **free 
democracy  of  New  York," — "an  important  preliminary," 
says  Mr.  Shepard,  "to  the  formation  of  the  modern  Re- 
publican party."'  Wilmot  addressed  this  convention. 
John  Van  Buren,  the  son  of  the  ex-President,  and  one  of 
the  most  effective  political  orators  of  the  day,  reported 
%he  resolutions.  The  fraud  at  Syracuse  was  denounced, 
and  a  call  was  issued  for  a  convention  on  Washington's 
Birthday,  1848,  to  choose  Barnburner  delegates  to  the 
National  Convention  to  contest  the  seats  of  those  chosen 
by  the  Hunkers.  It  was  declared  that  the  freemen  of 
New  York  would  not  submit  to  slavery  in  the  conquered 
provinces;  and  that  "against  the  threats  of  Southern 
Democrats  that  they  would  support  no  candidates  for  the 
presidency  who  did  not  assent  to  the  extension  of  slavery, 
the  Democrats  of  New  York  would  proclaim  their  deter- 
mination to  vote  for  no  candidate  who  did  so  assent."  ' 

The  National  Democratic  Convention  in  1848,  wishing 
to  avoid  offending  either  faction  in  New  York,  admitted 
both  the  "Hunker"  and  the  "Barnburner" 
delegations  from  that  State,  allowing  that  each  Democratic 
delegate  should  have  half  a  vote,  and  that  the  Convention, 
seventy-two  delegates  should  cast  the  thirty- 

'  Another  origin  for  "  Barnburners"  refers  it  to  "a  name  borrowed  from 
recent  disturbances  in  Rhode  Island,  where  the  defeated  Dorrites  had 
sought  revenge  by  burning  the  barns  of  the  law  and  order  party." — Mac- 
Laughlin's  CasSy  which  cites  also  the  Autobiography  of  Thurlow  Weed  and 
the  Whig  Almanac  for  1849,  ?•  !!• 

'  Shepard's  Van  Buren,  *  Shepard's  Van  Buren,  p.  358. 


72    Political  Parties  and  Party  Problems 

six  votes  of  the  State.  This  did  not  satisfy  the  Barn- 
burners, and  being  convinced  that  the  Wilmot  Proviso 
would  be  voted  down  and  that  a  candidate  favorable  to 
slavery  extension  would  be  chosen,  they  withdrew  from 
the  convention.  They  met  again  in  State  convention  at 
Utica  in  the  summer  of  1848,  declared  that  the  surrender 
of  congressional  power  over  the  Territories  and  the  refusal 
to  use  that  power  to  exclude  slavery  was  not  in  harmony 
with  Democratic  principles,  and  they  nominated  Martin 
Van  Buren  for  President  and  John  A.  Dix  for  Governor 
of  New  York.  Such  was  the  anti-slavery  revolt  among 
the  Democrats. 

The  National  Free-Soil  Convention,  designed  to  unite 
into  one  party  all  these  bolting  elements,  the  Barnburner 
Democrats,  the  Conscience  Whigs,  the  Liberty 
Soil  conven-  Hicn,  and  all  others  who  would  sink  past  politi- 
tion  at  Buffalo,  cal  differences  in  opposition  to  slavery  exten- 
sion, met  at  Buffalo  in  August,  1848.  This 
convention  may  be  looked  upon  as  marking  the  inception 
of  a  great  party.*  **Here  was,  at  last,"  says  Professor 
Burgess,  "the  principle  and  party  of  the  future.  Those 
who  composed  it  held  to  the  Union  and  the  Government, 
vindicated  the  national  character  of  both,  and  while  they 
denied  none  of  the  constitutional  rights  of  the  Southern 
Commonwealths,  and  none  of  the  compromises  of  the 
Constitution  with  the  slaveholders,  yet  they  refused  to 
allow  the  great  evil  under  which  the  country  suffered  to 
spread  into  regions  uncontaminated  by  it.'  The  Liberty 
party  had  already  nominated  John  P.  Hale  for  President, 
VanBuren's  ^^^  ^^^  Ncw  York  Barnburners,  as  we  have 
Candidacy,  sccn,  had  nominated  Van  Buren.  Although 
'  *  *  many  of   the  Barnburners  of  New  York  had 

pushed  forward  Van  Buren 's  candidacy  in  order  to  pay 

'  Over  the  platform  behind  the  president's  desk  was  a  picture  of  an  old 
bam  burning  under  the  inscription,  "  Let  it  burn  for  conscience'  sake." 
«  The  Middle  Period,  p.  348. 


The  Free-Soilers  Ti 

off  their  personal  and  party  grudges  against  the  Hun- 
kers, and  although  the  anti-slavery  convictions  of  Van 
Buren  and  some  of  his  followers  were  seriously  ques- 
tioned, especially  by  the  Hunkers  and  the  anti-slavery 
Whigs  who  were  asked  to  endorse  his  nomination,  yet 
the  fact  that  fully  half  the  Democrats  of  New  York  State 
were  ready  to  follow  Van  Buren 's  leadership  against  a 
pronounced  pro-slavery  Democracy  seemed  to  present  an 
opportunity  too  good  to  be  lost,  and  the  Free-Soilers  ac- 
cepted Van  Buren  as  their  presidential  candidate.  Hale, 
the  Liberal  party  candidate,  withdrew  in  Van  Buren 's 
favor.* 

Associated  with  Van  Buren  upon  the  Free-Soil  ticket 
was  Charles  Francis  Adams,  the  son  of  his  life-long  politi- 
cal opponent,  and  it  seemed  somewhat  odd  to  van  Buren 
see  Jackson's  first  lieutenant  and  the  son  of  ^"'^  ^"«-Soii. 
John  Quincy  Adams  running  together  in  a  presidential 
race.  The  combination  was  laughed  at  as  inconsistent 
and  grotesque.  Old-line  Whigs  like  Corwin,  Choate, 
and  Webster  satirized  Van  Buren's  candidacy  on  a  Free- 
Soil  platform.  Webster,  though  indignant  that  the 
Whigs  had  taken  up  Taylor  instead  of  himself,  refused  to 
desert  his  party  for  the  new  coalition,  and  said '  that  for 
**the  leader  of  the  Free-Spoil  party  to  become  the  leader 

*  President  Polk  desired  a  settlement  of  the  slavery  question  in  the 
Territories  by  the  extension  of  the  Missouri  line  to  the  Pacific.  If  this 
were  done  before  the  election  of  1848  it  would  tend  to  neutralize  the  effect 
on  the  party  of  Van  Buren's  bolt,  which  Polk  denounced  as  a  most  danger- 
ous attempt  to  organize  geographical  parties  upon  the  slave  question.  *'  It 
is  more  threatening  to  the  Union  than  anything  that  has  occurred  since  the 
meetings  of  the  Hartford  Convention  in  18 14.  Mr.  Van  Buren's  course  is 
selfish,  unpatriotic,  and  wholly  inexcusable.  The  effect  of  this  movement 
of  the  seceding  and  discontented  Democrats  will  be  effectually  counteracted 
if  the  slave  question  can  be  settled  by  adopting  the  Missouri  line  as  applied 
to  Oregon,  New  Mexico,  and  Upper  California  at  the  present  session  of 
Congress." — Polk's  Diary,  cited  in  Sydney  Webster's  Two  Treaties  of 
Paris,  pp.  8i,  82. 

*  Scudder's  Life  of  Lowell,  vol.  i.,  p.  224. 


74    Political  Parties  and  Party  Problems 

of  the  Free-Soil ^diXty  was  a  joke  to  shake  one's  sides," 
and  that  if  Van  Buren  and  himself  should  meet  upon  the 
same  platform  they  could  not  look  each  other  in  the  face 
without  laughing.  Anti-slavery  Whigs  like  Seward  and 
Greeley  also  refused  to  follow  Van  Buren 's 
GrleTey.and  leadership.  They  still  clung  to  the  old  Whig 
the  Anti-  party  in  the  belief  that  it  was,  or  could  still  be 
Slavery  Whigs,  j^^^g^  an  anti-slavery  party,  and  they  led  most 
of  the  anti-slavery  Whigs  to  the  support  of  Taylor. 
Seward,  though  disappointed  in  the  neutral  silence  of  the 
Whigs  as  a  party,  reasserted  his  allegiance  to  the  anti- 
slavery  cause  under  whatever  name,  and  he  pledged 
himself  to  stand  "for  emancipation  and  against  slavery, 
whether  my  party  go  with  me  and  live  or  go  against  it 
and  fall. '  *  *  Seward  and  Greeley  and  the  Whigs  who  fol- 
lowed them  looked  upon  the  Van  Buren  candidacy  as 
insincere,  and  they  believed  that  to  support  it  was  but  to 
support  a  guerrilla  warfare. 

But  whatever  one  may  think  as  to  the  charge  that  there 
was  to  be  found  a  mere  play  of  politics  in  the  conduct  of 
the  Van  Buren  faction  of  the  New  York  Democrats,  one 
may  not  doubt  the  high  and  earnest  purpose  of  the  great 
body  of  the  Free-Soil  party  which  spoke  its  deep  convic- 
tions at  Buffalo.  They  asserted  that  they  were  assembled 
as  a  "union  of  freemen  for  the  sake  of  freedom,  to  secure 
free  soil  to  a  free  people,"  and  putting  their  trust  in  God 
for  the  triumph  of  their  cause  they  planted  themselves 
firmly  "upon  the  national  platform  of  freedom  in  oppo- 
Free-Soii  sition  to  the  sectional  platform  of  slavery." 
Platform.  They  resolved  that  slavery  in  the  several  States 
^^^^'  depended  upon  State  laws  alone,  "which  can- 

not be  repealed  or  modified  by  the  Federal  Government, 
and  for  which  laws  that  Government  is  not  responsible. 
We,  therefore,  propose  no  interference  by  Congress  with 
slavery  within  the  limits  of  any  State  *  * ;  that 
'Bancroft's  Life  of  Seward,  vol.  i.,  p.  162. 


The  Free-Soilers  75 

"Congress  has  no  more  power  to  make  a  slave  than  to  make  a 
king;  no  more  power  to  institute  or  establish  slavery  than  to 
institute  or  establish  a  monarchy;  that  it  is  the  duty  of  the 
Federal  Government  to  relieve  itself  of  all  responsibility  for 
the  existence  or  continuance  of  slavery  wherever  the  Govern- 
ment possesses  constitutional  power  to  legislate  on  that  sub- 
ject, and  it  is  thus  responsible  for  its  existence;  that  the  true, 
the  only  safe  means  of  preventing  the  extension  of  slavery  into 
territory  now  free  is  to  prohibit  its  extension  into  all  such 
territory  by  an  act  of  Congress ;  that  we  accept  the  issue  which 
the  Slave  Power  has  forced  upon  us,  and  to  their  demand  for 
more  slave  States  and  more  slave  territory  our  calm  and  final 
answer  is:  No  more  slave  States  and  no  more  slave  territory. 
Let  the  soil  of  our  extensive  domain  be  kept  free  for  the  hardy 
pioneers  of  our  own  land  and  the  oppressed  and  banished  of 
other  lands  seeking  homes  of  comfort  and  enterprise  in  the 
new  world:  There  must  be  no  more  compromises 
with  slavery;  if  made,  they  must  be  repealed.  We  ^ree  Labor! 
inscribe  upon  our  banner,  'Free  Soil,  Free  Speech,  Free  Speech, 
Free  Labor,  and  Free  Men  *  [to  this  slogan  the 
Republicans  in  1856  added  Fremont],  and  under  it  we  will 
fight  on  and  fight  ever  until  a  triumphant  victory  shall  reward 
our  exertions.  *  *  ^ 

It  will  be  seen  from  this  declaration  that  the  Liberty 
men  could  easily  unite  with  the  Free-Soilers.  In  essen- 
tials they  were  at  one.  When  the  Free-Soil  statesmen 
declared  that  slavery  was  the  concern  of  the  States  with 
which  the  Federal  Government  had  no  right  to  interfere 
in  any  way,  they  announced  this,  not  especially  as  an  anti- 
slavery  doctrine,  but  as  the  doctrine  of  the  Constitution, 
the  doctrine  of  both  sections,  of  North  and  South  alike. 
But,  with  the  Free-Soilers,  it  followed  from  this  that  if 
the  Federal  Government  had  no  constitutional  right  to 
abolish  slavery  it  had  no  constitutional  right  to  support  it. 
If  the  people  of  a  slave  State  had  a  right  to  be  perfectly 

*  Free-Soil  Platform,  1848. 


76    Political  Parties  and  Party  Problems 

free  from  Federal  interference  with  their  **  peculiar  insti- 
tution," the  people  of  the  free  States  had  a  right  to  be 
TheConstitu-  ^^^i^^fy  exempt  from  the  guilt  and  expense 
tionai  Doc-  of  its  support  through  Federal  agency.  If  Con- 
inte^ention'  g^ess  had  no  more  power  to  abolish  slavery  in 
with  Slavery  South  Carolina  than  it  had  to  abolish  the  free- 
school  system  in  Massachusetts,  then  South 
Carolina  had  no  more  right  to  ask  Congress  for  legislation 
supporting  slavery  than  Massachusetts  had  for  legislation 
supporting  her  free  schools.  There  was  complete  recip- 
rocity of  rights  in  exemptions  and  burdens  between  the 
slave  States  and  the  free.  The  Free-Soilers  were  willing 
to  allow  that  three  fifths  of  the  slaves  should  be  counted  in 
the  basis  of  representation  in  States  where  slavery  origi- 
nally existed,  and  that  fugitive  slaves  should  be  delivered 
up  if  the  free  States  were  willing  to  do  it  under  such  re- 
strictions as  would  safeguard  the  liberty  of  free  colored 
persons  by  guaranteeing,  as  another  clause  of  the  Consti- 
tution enjoined,  that  no  person  should  be  deprived  of  life, 
liberty,  or  property  without  due  process  of  law.  Beyond 
these  concessions  to  slavery  they  had  no  duty  to  perform. 
The  South  asserted  the  right  to  be  let  alone  with  its 
slavery.  But  this  local  immunity  of  slavery  by  no  means 
involved  its  extension  under  national  protection  with  all 
its  social  and  moral  evils  and  with  its  unfair  increment  of 
political  power.  Therefore,  with  the  extension  of  na- 
tional territory  arose  the  Free-Soil  determination  to  see 
that  slavery  should  be  required  to  remain  where  it  was, 
and  that  it  should  not  be  allowed  to  spread  into  the  new 
Territories  to  blight  the  prosperity  and  happiness  of  fu- 
ture States.     The  Free-Soil  program,  therefore,  was : 

Free-SoU  I.  Slavery  should  be  barred  from  national  ter- 

Program.        ritory  by  national  power. 

2.  There  should  be  no  more  slave  States. 

3.  Slavery  should  be  abolished  in  the  District  of  Columbia. 


The  Free-Soilers  77 

4.  The  inter-State  and  coastwise  slave  trade  should  be  pre- 
vented. 

5.  The  national  power  should  not  be  used  in  diplomatic 
intercourse  for  the  protection  of  slave  property.  This  was 
peculiar  property,  not  property  by  the  Constitution  nor  by  the 
common  law,  and  it  was  to  be  protected  only  by  the  laws  of 
the  State.  If  this  *  two-legged  property  *  got  away  there  was 
no  obligation  resting  on  the  National  Government  to  reclaim  it. 

6.  For  the  same  reason  slavery  should  be  abolished  in  all 
the  forts,  arsenals,  dockyards,  and  public  buildings  of  the 
United  States. 

7.  They  would  allow  the  fugitive  slave  clause  of  the  Con- 
stitution to  become  a  dead  letter  by  regarding  it  as  a  compact 
clause  and  thus  leaving  its  enforcement  to  the  option  of  the 
several  States. 

In  brief,  the  Free-Soilers  would  confine  slavery  and  all 
support  of  it  to  the  narrowest  limits  possible  under  the 
■Constitution,  while  proposing  no  interference  with  it  in 
the  States  where  it  existed. 

This  presented,  at  one  and  the  same  time,  an  unmistak- 
able and  positive  expression  of  moral  conviction  as  to  the 
evils  of  slavery,  and  a  definite  and  consistent  constitu- 
tional and  political  program  for  its  extinction.  But 
the  Free-Soil  program  contained  too  many  particulars 
and  endangered  too  many  interests  to  find  acceptance. 
The  constituency  to  which  it  appealed  was  too  limited. 
The  nation  was  not  ready  in  1848  and  1852  definitely  to 
proclaim  this  policy.  It  proposed  too  great  an  interfer- 
ence with  the  situation,  with  the  status  quo.  The  danger 
of  the  nationalization  of  slavery — that  the  nation  would 
become  all  slave — was  not  then  seen  to  be  imminent. 
The  Free-Soil  policy  was  too  specific,  too  positive,  too 
radical,  to  receive  the  support  of  the  conservative  anti- 
slavery  constituency  of  the  North.  These  conservatives, 
whose  support  twelve  years  later  made  possible  a  party 
agency  sufficiently  powerful  to  restrain  the  national  domi- 


78    Political  Parties  and  Party  Problems 

nance  of  slavery,  held  that  the  rendition  of  fugitive  slaves 
was  clearly  agreed  to  in  the  constitutional  compact ;  that 
slavery  in  the  District  of  Columbia  had  been  ceded  to  the 
National  Government  with  the  soil,  and  that  abolition 
there  without  the  consent  of  Maryland  as  well  as  of  the 
residents  of  the  District  would  seem  like  a  breach  of 
faith  and  would  endanger  the  social  peace  and  welfare  of 
these  adjacent  States ;  that  if  a  union  with  slave  States  was 
to  be  maintained,  what  the  slave  States  held 

The  Conserva-         ,  ■,  ■,       ^  . 

tive  Anti-  to  be  property  was  property  under  the  Consti- 
siavery  tution,   not   Only  within   those   States   where 

Position.  .  1      1  .  1  ,  r. 

slavery  existed,  but  without  those  States,  as 
in  our  foreign  negotiations  for  legal  claims  for  slaves 
carried  by  stress  of  weather  or  mutiny  to  foreign  ports 
whose  laws  declared  them  free, — especially  since  the  slave 
States  had  surrendered  all  right  and  power  to  push  their 
own  claims  in  foreign  affairs.  Without  such  national 
protection  there  could  be  no  claim  on  these  States  to  a  na- 
tional allegiance.  A  few  years  later,  under  changed  cir- 
cumstances in  which  the  issue  of  slavery  extension  had 
been  pushed  preponderantly  to  the  front,  the  Republicans 
found  it  inexpedient  as  well  as  unnecessary  to  make  de- 
clarations on  these  particular  matters.     But  in  its  direction 

and  purpose,  in  its  underlying  essentials,  the 
and  Repubu-  Republican  position  was  the  same  as  that  of 
cans  Identical  ^-^^  Frec-Soilers.     Each  came  into  existence, 

m  their  ' 

Underlying  the  one  the  forerunner  of  the  other,  from  the 
Principle.  conviction  that  slavery  was  wrong  and  that  the 
national  power  should  be  used  in  its  restraint.  The  fact 
that  the  Republicans  adopted  the  cardinal  principle  of  the 
Free-Soilers  enabled  the  minor  party  readily  to  merge 
with  the  greater  anti-slavery  army  of  1856  and  i860. 

The  struggle  over  excluding  slavery  from  the  Mexican 
cessions,  the  admission  of  California,  escaping  fugitive 
slaves,  slavery  and  the  slave  trade  in  the  District  of 
Columbia,  the  boundary  claims  of  Texas, — these  matters, 


The  Free-Soilers  79 

after  a  controversy  that  seemed  to  threaten  the  continu- 
ance of  the  Union,  were  settled  by  compromise  in  1850. 
This  settlement  was  generally  accepted  by  the 

.  e     -x  -r-k      1  •  Compromise 

public  sentiment  of  the  country.  Both  parties  of  1850. 
resolved  to  observe  it,  and  on  the  basis  of  it  Effect  on 
the  two  wings  of  the  Democrats  were  reunited. 
The  Free-Soil  vote  of  292,000  of  1848  fell  to  152,000  in 
1852,  while  of  the  120,000  Free-Soil  votes  cast  for  Van 
Buren  in  New  York  in  1848,  only  25,000  were  reported 
for  Hale  in  1852,  which  shows  that  nearly  100,000  Dem- 
ocrats had  gone  off  in  that  State  in  1848  on  other  than 
anti-slavery  opinion,  or  that  they  were  reconciled  to  the 
settlement  of  1850.  There  was,  after  1850,  a  grim  deter- 
mination that  slavery  should  be  banished  from  public 
discussion.  On  the  adjournment  of  Congress  in  1850 
Douglas  is  reported  to  have  gone  to  his  home  in  Illinois 
declaring  that  he  never  expected  to  make  another  speech 
on  the  subject  of  slavery.  "This  determination,"  says 
Hay  and  Nicolay's  Life  of  Lincoln,  **was  echoed  and  re- 
echoed, affirmed  and  re-affirmed  by  the  recog- 
nized organs  of  the  public  voice,  from  the  vil-  nauty  "  of  the 
lage  newspaper  to  the  presidential  message.  Legislation  of 
from  the  country  debating  school  to  the  meas- 
ured utterances  of  Senatorial  discussion. "  Sumner  found 
it  difficult  to  get  an  opportunity  to  speak  on  the  Fugitive 
Slave  Law  in  the  United  States  Senate  in  1852,  and  he 
compared  the  determination  to  make  final  the  laws  of 
1850  to  the  proposition  of  the  Greek  lawgiver,  who,  in 
order  to  secure  the  permanency  of  his  laws,  proposed  that 
a  halter  should  be  placed  around  the  neck  of  any  citizen 
who  suggested  repeal,  with  the  understanding  that  he 
should  be  drawn  if  his  proposition  failed. 

The  Free-Soilers  who  felt  that  unsettled  questions  have 
no  pity  for  the  repose  of  nations  and  that  a  question  is 
never  settled  until  it  is  settled  right,  were  far  from  think- 
ing that  the  slavery  question  was  settled ;  they  refused  to 


8o    Political  Parties  and  Party  Problems 

recognize  the  settlement  of  1850  as  final.  They  were 
as  determined  to  continue  the  agitation  as  the  majority 
were  to  suppress  It.  They  concentrated  their  opposition 
chiefly  on  the  Fugitive  Slave  Law,  which  was  to  them 
the  utmost  abomination.     Sumner  said  in  the  Senate : 

*'  On  the  subject  which  for  years  has  agitated  the  public 
mind,  which  yet  palpitates  in  every  heart  and  burns  on  every 
g  J.   _    tongue,    which   in   its    immeasurable    importance 

tests  against  dwarf s  all  Other  subjects,  which  by  its  constant  and 
Suppression  of  gigantic  presence   throws  a  shadow  across   these 

Discussion.        f>  &  r 

halls,  they  impose  the  rule  of  silence.  .  .  . 
This  challenges  the  very  discussion  it  pretends  to  forbid.  De- 
bate, inquiry,  discussion,  are  the  necessary  consequence. 
Silence  becomes  impossible.  Slavery,  which  you  profess  to 
banish  from  public  attention,  openly  by  your  invitation  enters 
every  political  meeting  and  every  political  convention.  The 
discussion  of  slavery  will  proceed  wherever  two  or  three  are 
gathered  together, — by  the  fireside,  on  the  highway,  at  the 
public  meeting,  in  the  Church.  The  movement  against  slavery 
is  from  the  Everlasting  Arm.  Even  now  it  is  gathering  its 
forces,  soon  to  be  confessed  everywhere.  It  may  not  be  felt 
yet  in  the  high  places  of  office  and  power,  but  all  who  can  put 
their  ear  humbly  to  the  ground  will  hear  and  comprehend  its 
incessant  and  advancing  tread."  * 

The  Free-Soilers  called  those  who  endeavored  entirely 
"Finauty  to  hush  the  slavery  agitation  ** Finality  Men." 
Men."  One  of   their  newspaper  epigrams   expressed 

their  feeling  of  certainty  that  the  slavery  question  would 
soon  come  up  again : 

**  To  kill  twice  dead  a  rattlesnake 
And  off  his  scaly  skin  to  take 
And  through  his  head  to  drive  a  stake 
And  every  bone  within  him  break 

'  Johnston  and  Woodburn's  American  Political  Orations,  vol.  ii.,  p.  279. 


The  Free-Soilers  8i 

And  of  his  flesh  mince-meat  to  make; 
To  burn,  to  sear,  to  boil,  to  bake. 
Then  in  a  heap  the  whole  to  rake, 
And  over  it  the  besom  shake. 
And  sink  it  fathoms  in  the  lake, 
Whence  after  all  quite  wide  awake 
Comes  back  that  very  same  old  snake.'* 

Again  we  are  led  to  see  that  it  was  the  course  of  events 
rather  than  the  conscious  purpose  of  man  that  determined 
the  course  and  fate  of  parties.  Neither  the  determination 
of  the  Abolitionists  and  the  Free-Soilers  that  the  coun- 
try should  have  no  rest  on  the  subject  of  slavery,  nor  the 
determination  of  the  "Finality  Men  "  that  peace  should 
be  had  even  at  the  expense  of  repression,  determined  the 
outcome.  It  was  rather  the  unexpected  aggressions  of 
slavery  and  the  events  to  which  these  aggres- 
sions led  that  brought  on  another  crisis  and  the  Missouri 
final  struggle.     It  was  the  repeal  of  the  Mis-    Compromise 

oo  tr  and  the  Ongin 

souri  Compromise  in  1854  by  the  Kansas-Neb-  of  the 

raska  Bill,  that  called  into  existence  a  National  R«p«^««*°«- 
party  that  was  destined  to  resist  successfully  the  exten- 
sion of  slavery.  It  was  the  striking  down  of  that  historic 
landmark,  that  barrier  that  had  stood  for  a  generation 
against  the  extension  of  slavery  to  the  great  West,  that 
brought  into  existence  the  new  Republican  party  whose 
first  great  office  it  was  to  save  Kansas  and  Nebraska  and 
thereby  to  save  the  nation  from  the  dominance  of  the 
slave  power. 

6 


CHAPTER  VII 

THE   EARLY   REPUBLICANS 

IN  urging  the  repeal  of  the  Missouri  Compromise  in 
1854,  by  the  organizing  act  for  Kansas  and  Nebraska, 
Douglas  claimed  to  stand  on  the  principle  of  the  com- 
promise legislation  of  1850.  In  this  legislation  the  prin- 
ciple of  non-intervention  was  applied  to  the  territories 
acquired  from  Mexico.  It  was  now  announced  by  Doug- 
las that  this  principle  of  1850  was  intended  not  only  for 
application  to  the  Territories  then  under  discussion  (New 
Dou  las's  Mexico  and  Utah),  but  for  application  in  all 
Doctrine  of  Subsequent  organization  of  Territories.  The 
Supersedure.  pj-Jnciple  of  1850  (non-intervention)  had  super- 
seded the  principle  of  1820  (prohibition),  and  Douglas 
now  boldly  declared  that  he  was  but  carrying  out  the 
spirit  of  the  greater  and  later  compromise  which  the 
country  had  so  generally  accepted  as  final. 

But  the  repeal  of  the  Missouri  Compromise,  as  well  as 
the  doctrine  of  the  adroit  politician  who  sought  to  defend 
that  repeal,  was  a  startling  surprise  to  the  country.  It 
aroused  again  the  independent  anti-slavery  Democracy. 
The  repealing  act  opened  up  all  the  unorganized  territory 
of  the  nation  to  slavery,  in  violation  of  "the  sacred  com- 
pact which  was  regarded  by  the  common  consent  of  the 
American  people  "  as  consecrating  the  Northwest  Terri- 
tory to  freedom.  "For  more  than  thirty  years, -^during 
more  than  half  the  period  of  our  national  Constitution, — 

82 


The  Early  Republicans  83 

this  compact  [the  Missouri  Compromise]  had  been  univer- 
sally regarded  and  acted  upon  as  inviolable  American 
law."  It  was  now  repealed;  and  the  freemen  of  all 
parties  were  called  upon  to  resist.  The  **  Independent 
Democrats  "  arraigned  this  bill  as  **a  gross  violation  of  a 
sacred  pledge ;  as  a  criminal  betrayal  of  precious  rights ; 
as  part  and  parcel  of  an  atrocious  plot  to  exclude  from  a 
vast  unoccupied  region  immigrants  from  the  Old  World 
and  free  laborers  from  our  States."  The  people  were 
called  on  to  rally  in  an  effort  to  save  the  great  West  from 
being  converted  into  "a  dreary  region  of  despotism,  in- 
habited by  masters  and  slaves."'  The  repeal  of  the 
Missouri  Compromise  placed  freedom  and  slavery  face  to 
face  for  the  final  grapple. 

The  elements  to  be  united  in  the  new  party  needed  to 
commit  the  nation  to  freedom  were : 

{a)  The  greater  part  of  the  Northern  Whigs,  °Efement8 
whose   representatives   had    voted   solidly    in  f^  t^e 

Congress  against  the  Kansas-Nebraska  Bill.  *^" 

(d)  The  Anti-Nebraska  Democrats, —  the  anti-slavery 
men  of  the  Democratic  party  who  were  resisting  again, 
like  the  former  Barnburners,  the  opening  of  new  terri- 
tory to  slavery.  Nearly  half  of  the  Democratic  Represen- 
tatives from  the  North  had  voted  against  the  repeal  of 
the  Missouri  Compromise. 

(c)  The  Free-Soilers,  both  of  Democratic  and  Whig 
antecedents. 

Of  the  elements  thus  proposing  to  enter  into  combi- 
nation it  is  probable  that  the  Whigs  were  the  most  nu- 
merous. But  it  was  evident  that  the  Democrats  and 
Free-Soilers  could  not  become  Whigs.  To  all  Democrats, 
Whig  principles  meant  a  protective  tariff  and  large  inter- 
nal improvements;  and  to  enroll  under  the  Whig  ban- 
ner would  be  to  adopt  principles  that  they  had  always 

^  Address  of  Independent  Democrats,  Schucker's  Li/e  of  Chase,  Ameri- 
can History  Leaflets. 


84    Political  Parties  and  Party  Problems 

opposed.  Consequently,  the  new  party  fell  back  to  the  old 
name,  Republican,  approved  by  Jefferson,  and  they  called 
upon  the  nation  to  walk  again  in  the  path  of  their  Re- 
publican Fathers,  in  the  path  marked  out  by  Jefferson,  the 
original  Free-Soiler,  who,  with  other  Republicans  of  his 
day,  had  so  persistently  striven  to  prevent  the  extension 
of  slavery  to  Western  territory, —  an  attempt  that  had 
won  such  notable  success  in  the  immortal  Ordinance  of 

1787. 

The  transition  from  the  old  parties  to  the  new  was 
made  easier,  in  some  instances,  by  the  rise  of  the  **Know- 
The"Know-  nothings  "  in  1854  and  1855, — a  secret  political 
nothings."  movement  of  native  Americanism  in  opposition 
to  foreigners  and  the  Roman  Catholic  Church.  The  mem- 
bers of  this  party  were  pledged  to  know  nothing  of  the 
doings  in  the  secret  lodges  and  conventions  of  the  party 
when  inquired  of  by  any  outsider.  *' Americans  should 
rule  America," — this  was  the  fundamental  doctrine  of  the 
Knownothings.  "Put  none  but  Americans  on  guard 
to-night ' ' — a  command  of  Washington  in  the  midst  of 
threatening  dangers — was  a  motto  of  the  Revolution 
now  adapted  to  their  uses  by  this  new  party  of  anti-alien- 
ism. The  movement  spread  rapidly  and  carried  local 
elections  in  some  of  the  States,  both  North  and  South. 
It  served  to  detach  men  from  old  party  loyalties  and 
traditions,  and  many  Whigs  and  Democrats  and  some 
Free-Soilers  passed  through  this  channel  to  become 
p^epublicans. 

The  dominant  characteristic  of  the  new  Republican 
party  was  its  opposition  to  slavery.  By  its  opponents. 
The "  Black  especially  those  of  the  South,  it  was  always 
Repubucans."  called  the  "Black  Republican"  party,  as  if  it 
were  hopelessly  and  dangerously  tarnished  with  the  pitch 
of  hated  Abolitionism.  Like  the  Free-Soilers,  the  new 
party  proposed  to  observe  all  the  constitutional  guar- 
antees, and  it  therefore  proposed  no  interference  with 


The  Early  Republicans  85 

slavery  where  it  existed.  The  party  resolved  that  under 
the  Constitution  Congress  had  sovereign  power  over  the 
Territories;  and  that  "in  the  exercise  of  this      „     ^.. 

'  Republican 

power  it  is  both  the  right  and  duty  of  Con-  Platform  of 
gress  to  prohibit  in  the  Territories  those  twin  *^^*' 

relics  of  barbarism,  polygamy  and  slavery"  ;  that 

**as  our  Republican  Fathers,  when  they  had  abolished  slavery 
in  all  our  national  territory,  ordained  that  no  person  should  be 
deprived  of  life,  liberty,  or  property  without  due  process  of 
law,  it  becomes  our  duty  to  maintain  this  provision  of  the 
Constitution  against  all  attempts  to  violate  it  for  the  purpose 
of  estabUshing  slavery  in  the  United  States  by  positive  legis- 
lation prohibiting  its  existence  or  extension  therein;  that  we 
deny  the  authority  of  Congress,  of  a  Territorial  legislature, 
of  any  individual  or  association  of  individuals,  to  give  legal 
existence  to  slavery  in  any  Territory  of  the  United  States  while 
the  present  Constitution  shall  be  maintained."  * 

Thus  by  the  reorganization  of  parties  and  the  rise  of 
the  Republicans  in  1856,  the  lines  were  drawn  for  the  final 
conflicts  over  slavery.  Though  the  Dred  Scott  decision 
of  1857  came  to  the  aid  of  the  aggressive  movement  for 
the  nationalization  of  slavery,  by  declaring  that  the 
primary  purpose  of  the  Republican  party,  the  political 
policy  for  which  the  party  was  born,  was  unconstitutional, 
and  that  Congress  had  no  power  to  exclude  slavery  from 
the  Territories  as  the  Republicans  proposed,  yet  it  was 
found  in  this  instance,  as  in  most  others,  that  political 
purposes  and  programs  are  not  much  changed  or  af- 
fected by  judicial  deliverances.  The  Republicans,  led  by 
Lincoln  and  Trumbull,  Seward,  Chase,  Morton,  Wade, 
Fessenden,  Colfax,  Sumner,  Greeley,  Wilson,  CoUamer, 
and  other  powerful  leaders, — lawyers,  journalists,  states- 
men, and  reformers,  imbued  with  moral  purpose  and 
power,  pursued  unswervingly  the  policy  that  had  called 

»  Republican  Platform,  1856. 


86    Political  Parties  and  Party  Problems 

the  party  into  being.  In  great  historic  speeches  Lincoln 
and  Seward  defined  the  dominant  issue  then  confronting 
the  nation : 

**A  house  divided  against  itself  cannot  stand.  This  Govern- 
ment cannot  endure  permanently  half  slave  and  half  free. 
Lincoln  and  '^^^  Union  will  become  all  one  thing  or  all  the 
Seward  Define  Other.  Either  the  opponents  of  slavery  will  arrest 
the  Issue  ^^le  further  spread  of  it,  and  place  it  where  the  pub- 
Nation  from  lie  mind  shall  rest  in  the  belief  that  it  is  in  the 
the  Republican  course  of  ultimate  extinction;  or  its  advocates  will 
*  push  it  forward  till  it  shall  become  alike  lawful  in 
all  the  States,  old  as  well  as  new,  North  as  well  as  South."  * 

**  These  antagonistic  systems  (the  slave  labor  system  and  the 
free  labor  system)  are  continually  coming  into  closer  contact, 
and  collision  results.  Shall  I  tell  you  what  this  collision 
means  ?  They  who  think  that  it  is  accidental,  unnecessary, 
the  work  of  interested  or  fanatical  agitators,  and  therefore 
ephemeral,  mistake  the  case  altogether.  It  is  an  irrepressible 
conflict  between  enduring  and  opposing  forces,  and  it  means 
that  the  United  States  will,  sooner  or  later,  become  either  en- 
tirely a  slaveholding  nation,  or  entirely  a  free-labor  nation. 
Either  the  cotton-  and  rice-fields  of  South  Carolina  and  the 
sugar  plantations  of  Louisiana  will  ultimately  be  tilled  by  free 
labor,  and  Charleston  and  New  Orleans  become  marts  of 
legitimate  merchandise  alone,  or  else  the  rye-fields  and  wheat- 
fields  of  Massachusetts  and  New  York  must  again  be  surren- 
dered by  their  farmers  to  slave  culture  and  to  the  production 
of  slaves ;  and  Boston  and  New  York  become  once  more  markets 
for  trade  in  the  bodies  and  souls  of  men."  " 

Such,  at  the  opening  of  Buchanan's  administration,  fol- 
lowing the  announcement  of  the  Dred  Scott  decision,  was 
the  form  in  which  the  great  Republican  leaders  presented 
to  the  nation  the  pressing  issue  in  American  politics. 

*  Lincoln,  June  i6,  1858. 

*  Seward,  October  25,  1858,  Works  ;  Johnston  and  Woodburn's  Orations^ 
vol.  iii.,  p.  201. 


The  Early  Republicans  87 

To  meet  the  aggressive  and  vigorous  young  Republican 
party,  with  its  able  leaders,  the  Democracy  was  not  able 
to  present  a  united  front.  Repeatedly  has  the  Demo- 
cratic party  been  unable  to  hold  its  traditional  Democratic 
forces  together,  and  in  1857  it  was  on  the  eve  ScWsm  under 
of  one  of  the  most  serious  schisms  in  its  his-  Buchanan, 
tory.  The  Southern  wing  of  the  party  demanded  na- 
tional protection  to  slave  property  in  all  the  Territories. 
This  was  inconsistent  with  Douglas's  doctrine  of  "popu- 
lar sovereignty,"  which  insisted  upon  the  right  of  the 
people  of  a  Territory  to  exclude  slavery  if  they  chose. 
Buchanan  committed  his  administration,  under  the  influ- 
ence of  Southern  leaders,  to  a  pro-slavery  policy  in  Kan- 
sas, and  urged  the  admission  of  that  Territory  as  a  State 
under  the  Lecompton  Constitution  without  giving  the 
people  of  the  Territory  a  fair  opportunity  to  reject  the 
Lecompton  government.  The  policy  was  without  justi- 
fication or  defence,  not  only  in  the  view  of  all  anti-slavery 
men,  but  also  of  all  Northern  Democrats  who  believed 
that  the  people  of  a  Territory  should  have  the  right  to 
determine  upon  their  own  domestic  institutions  in  their 
own  way.  Douglas,  while  declaring  that  he  cared  not 
"whether  slavery  was  voted  up  or  voted  down,"  de- 
nounced the  Lecompton  scheme  and  defied  his  party  Ad- 
ministration. Buchanan  warned  Douglas  of  the  fate  of 
Democratic  leaders  who  dared  to  resist  an  Administration 
of  their  own  making, — their  fate  was  to  be  crushed  as 
Jackson  had  crushed  Tallmadge  and  Rives.  Douglas  re- 
torted that  Buchanan  would  do  well  to  remember  that 
Andrew  Jackson  was  dead!  Douglas,  in  the  Senate, 
spokesman  and  leader  of  the  Northern  Democ-  j^^^  ^^^  ^^^ 
racy,  stood  up  stoutly  against  the  Lecompton  the  Lecomp- 
fraud.  He  knew  that  if  the  Lecompton  con-  to^Q^^^^^^- 
stitution  were  submitted  to  a  fair  vote  of  the  people  of 
Kansas  it  would  be  voted  down  by  an  overwhelming 
majority.     He  stood  for  the  right  of  the  State  to  have 


88    Political  Parties  and  Party  Problems 

the  constitution  that  it  wanted.  **If  Kansas  wants  a 
slave-State  constitution  she  has  a  right  to  it ;  if  she  wants 
a  free-State  constitution  she  has  a  right  to  it.  It  is  none 
of  my  business  which  way  the  slavery  clause  is  decided. ' '  ' 
Although  Douglas's  position  by  no  means  satisfied  the 
South,  he  was  far  from  coming  to  the  Republican  position. 
There  was  as  sharp  an  issue,  and  one  fundamentally  more 
important,  between  Douglas  and  Lincoln  as  between 
Douglas  and  Buchanan.  Douglas  proclaimed  his  support 
of  the  Dred  Scott  decision,  which  asserted  that  Congress 
could  not  bar  slavery  from  the  Territories.  If  Congress 
could  not  do  this  it  would  seem  that  a  creature  of  Con- 
gress, the  Territorial  legislature,  could  not  do  so.  In  the 
famous  Lincoln-Douglas  debates,  Lincoln  forced  Doug- 
las to  answer  whether  the  people  of  a  Territory  could 
exclude  slavery  from  its  limits  prior  to  the  formation  of 
a  State  constitution.  If  Douglas  said  that  they  could 
not,  he  must  abandon  his  cherished  doctrine  of  popular 
sovereignty  and  he  would  probably  lose  the  senatorship. 
If  he  said  they  could,  he  would  offend  the  South  and 
rend  the  Democratic  party.  In  answer  to  Lincoln's  in- 
quiry Douglas  propounded  at  Freeport  his  famous  doc- 
trine of  "unfriendly  legislation":  That  the  people  of  a 
Territory 

"have  the  lawful  means  to  introduce  or  exclude  slavery  as 
they  please,  for  the  reason  that  slavery  cannot  exist  a  day  or 

'  "  I  care  not  whether  slavery  be  voted  up  or  voted  down," — this  was  the 
declaration  Douglas  was  constantly  reiterating.  To  the  evils  of  slavery  and 
to  the  spread  of  slavery  he  was  indifferent,  or  he  thought  it  none  of  his  or 
of  the  nation's  business.  All  he  would  fight  for  was  the  right  of  the 
Territorial  people  to  vote  on  that.  He  thought  this  platform  would  hold 
his  party  together  and  enable  it  to  retain  place  and  power.  There  were 
positive  forces  on  either  side  of  him,  vital  with  conviction.  It  has  been 
urged  that  Douglas's  willingness  to  allow  that  the  nation  should  be  morally 
indifferent  in  the  face  of  such  a  tremendous  moral  issue  is  sufficient  to 
deny  him  the  title  of  a  national  statesman. 


The  Early  Republicans  89 

an  hour  anywhere  unless  it  is  supported  by  local  police  reg- 
ulations. If  the  people  are  opposed  to  slavery  they  will  elect 
representatives  to  their  Territorial  legislature  who  Douglas's 
will  by  unfriendly  legislation  effectually  prevent  the  j)o,.'trine^"°^ 
introduction  of  it  into  their  midst.  If  on  the  con-  ••  Unfriendly 
trary  they  are  for  it,  their  legislation  will  favor  its  Legislation." 
extension.  Hence,  no  matter  what  the  decision  of  the  Su- 
preme Court  may  be  on  that  abstract  question,  still  the  right 
of  the  people  to  make  a  slave  Territory  or  a  free  Territory  is 
perfect  and  complete  under  the  Nebraska  Bill." 

Such  was  Douglas's  efifort  to  support  both  the  Supreme 
Court  decision  and  the  theory  of  popular  sovereignty. 
The  two  were  not  reconcilable,  except  by  some  process 
of  political  legerdemain.  Lincoln,  denying  the  validity 
of  the  Dred  Scott  decision,  and  representing  the  Northern 
Republicans  on  the  one  hand,  met  this  equivocal  position 
of  Douglas  by  the  positive  demand  that  national  power 
should  prohibit  slavery  from  the  Territories.  On  the 
other  hand,  Jefferson  Davis,  holding  to  the  Dred  Scott 
decision,  representing  the  Southern  Democracy  met  the 
Douglas  position  with  an  equally  positive  demand  that 
the  National  Government  should  protect  slavery  in  the 
Territories.  Douglas's  answer  enabled  him  to  carry  the 
senatorship  of  Illinois,  but  it  was  fatal  to  his  hopes  of 
Southern  support  for  the  presidency.  His  Lecompton 
policy  and  his  "Freeport  doctrine"  were  a  mortal  offence 
to  the  slave  power,  and  Southern  leaders  gave  notice  in 
Congress  that  no  such  Democratic  doctrine  and  leadership 
would  be  accepted  by  the  South.  A  widening  breach  be- 
tween the  two  sections  of  the  Democracy  was  inevitable. 

The  fourth  period  in  the  history  of  parties  in  America 

covers  the  two  decades  from  1856  to  1876,  from 

the   first   national  contest  of  the  modern  Re-    i^  our  Party 

publican  party  to  the  close  of  the  reconstruc-         History, 
.  .    ,       X    .  .    ,    i  1      /.     ,      1856-1876. 

tion  period.     It  is  a  period  that  covers  the  final 

struggle  against  the  extension  of  slavery,  the  threatened 


90    Political  Parties  and  Party  Problems 

nationalization  of  slavery  by  the  Dred  Scott  decision,  the 
secession  movement,  the  war  for  the  preservation  of 
the  Union,  the  reconstruction  of  the  divided  States,  the 
financial  issues  growing  out  of  the  war,  and  the  attempt 
to  adjust  and  protect  by  national  power  the  civil  and  po- 
litical rights  of  the  freedmen.  It  was  in  the  first  part  of 
this  period,  the  formative  period  of  the  Republican  party, 
that  the  three  proposed  policies  of  the  nation  toward 
slavery  in  the  Territories  were  formulated  which  resulted 
in  the  division  of  the  Democratic  party  which  we  have 
described.  This  resulted  in  the  triumph  of  the  Republi- 
cans by  the  first  election  of  Lincoln.  These  policies  were 
submitted  to  the  people  in  i860  for  final  adjudication  in 
the  most  notable,  if  not  the  most  important,  campaign 
in  American  political  history. 

(i)   The  Republicans   under  Lincoln  asserted  that   the 
national   power   should  bar   slavery  from  the 

Summary  .  .  .         ,  ,       , 

Re-statement  national  territory.  Slavery  existed  only  by 
of  the  Three     gtate  law.     There  was  no  law  for  it  in  the  Ter- 

Platformson        .        .  ,  ,.  ,       , 

Slavery  and  ritories.  Congrcss  could  establish  slavery  no- 
the  Temtones  ^^cre,  but  was  bound  to  prohibit  and  exclude 

in  i860.  ^ 

it  from  all  Federal  territory. 

(2)  The  Souther7i  Democrats  under  Breckinridge  asserted 
that  national  power  should  protect  slavery  in  the  national 
territory.  The  citizen  of  any  State  had  a  right  to  mi- 
grate to  any  Territory,  taking  with  him  anything  that 
was  property  by  the  law  of  his  own  State,  and  Congress 
was  bound  to  render  protection  to  such  property,  wher- 
ever necessary,  with  or  without  the  co-operation  of  the 
Territorial  legislature. 

(3)  The  Northern  Democrats  under  Douglas  asserted  the 
doctrine  of  popular  sovereignty,  of  non-interference ;  that 
slavery  or  no  slavery  in  any  Territory  was  entirely  the 
affair  of  the  white  inhabitants  of  such  Territory.  If  they 
chose  to  have  it,  it  was  their  right;  if  they  chose  not 
to  have  it,  they  had  a  right  to  exclude  or  prohibit  it. 


The  Early  Republicans  91 

Neither  Congress  nor  the  people  of  the  Union  had  any 
right  to  interfere/ 

One  wing  of  the  Democracy  represented  a  sectional  in- 
terest and  a  section  of  States.  The  other,  though  carry- 
ing fewer  States,  was  more  national  in  character  and 
represented  a  larger  mass  of  Democratic  voters.  Lincoln 
carried  all  the  free  States  and  was  elected.  Douglas 
carried  but  the  single  State  of  Missouri,'  though  in  the 
popular  vote  he  exceeded  Breckinridge  by  more  than  a 
half-million  votes. 

With  Lincoln's  election  the  country  was  plunged  into 
the  issues  of  secession  and  war.  With  the  final  withdrawal 
of  national  troops  from  the  Southern  States  by  ^^^  ^^  Recon- 
President  Hayes  in  1877,  the  period  of  Recon-  struction 
struction  may  be  said  to  have  come  to  an  end.  Period, 

and  the  issues  growing  out  of  slavery,  secession,  and  the 
Civil  War  may  be  said  to  have  been  settled.  In  this  per- 
iod the  Republicans,  being  the  anti-slavery  party  and  the 
party  in  power  (after  i860),  stood  for  the  defence  of  the 
Union,  for  emancipation,  and  for  the  civil  and  political 
rights  of  the  negroes,  and,  in  order  to  accomplish  these 
ends,  they  stood  for  all  necessary  extension  of  Federal  au- 
thority. The  party  would  save  the  Union  at  all  hazards, 
and  consequently  as  a  means  of  war  to  this  end,  the  rights 
of  the  States  and  of  citizens  were  disregarded  more  than 
ever  before  in  our  history.  On  the  other  hand,  the  Demo- 
crats, being  in  opposition,  were  disposed  to  be  more  con- 
ciliatory toward  secession,  more  lenient  to  the  seceded 
States,  more  careful  of  the  rights  of  the  States,  and  more 
watchful  of  the  rights  of  the  individual  citizen,  more 
jealous  and  resistant  toward  the  extension  of  Democrats 
executive  and  national  authority.  With  but  during  the 
little  regard  to  the  moral  aspects  of  slavery,  "' 

they  resisted  the  war  wherein  they  thought  it  was  in- 

*  Greeley's  American  Conflict,  vol.  i.,  p.  322. 

'  He  received  also  three  electoral  votes  from  New  Jersey. 


92    Political  Parties  and  Party  Problems 

tended  to  work  emancipation.  They  were  opposed  to  an 
"Abolition  war."  They  were  conservatives, — moderate 
men  who  wanted  to  conciliate  the  South,  stop  war  and 
strife,  restore  peace  and  order,  and  save  the  Union  of  the 
Fathers  as  it  was.  Oblivious  of  the  moral  progress  of  the 
world  as  to  slavery,  they  execrated  the  radical  extremists 
on  both  sides.  To  their  minds  the  "Abolition  fanatics  " 
and  the  Southern  "fire-eaters  "  were  equally  responsible 
for  secession  and  war ;  war  had  come  about  from  placing 
these  radical  extremists  in  power  in  the  two  sections. 

The  "War  Democrats,"  a  wing  of  the  party  in  the 
North,  loyally  supported  the  war  for  the  Union  in  all 
legitimate  directions.  But  another  wing  of  the  Northern 
Democracy — in  some  States  a  dominant  wing — denounced 
the  war  vigorously  in  all  its  stages,  and,  like  forces  firing 
in  the  rear,  did  much  to  harass  Mr.  Lincoln's  adminis- 
tration. They  called  the  soldiers  "Lincoln  hirelings"; 
they  encouraged  desertion ;  they  resisted  the  draft,  they 
rejoiced  at  Southern  victories,  and  their  public  meetings, 
resolutions,  and  speeches  were  like  aid  and  comfort  to  the 
enemy;  and  finally,  in  national  convention  in  1864,  led 
by  Vallandigham  of  Ohio,  their  voices  and  votes  con- 
trolled the  party  and  led  it  to  demand  an  immediate  ces- 
sation of  hostilities  "after  four  years  of  failure  to  restore 
the  Union  by  the  experiment  of  war."  The  Northern 
temper  was  intolerant  in  the  heat  of  civil  strife  of  this  fac- 
tious opposition  to  the  war,  and  these  Democrats  were 
called  "Traitors,"  "Butternuts,"  and  "Copperheads," 
indicative  of  their  neutral  shade,  or  their  positive  oppo- 
sition to  their  country,  or  their  treacherous  and  venomous 
conduct.  As  always  in  war,  the  party  in  power  tended 
largely  toward  the  suppression  of  such  free  discussion  as 
might  be  calculated  to  give  comfort  to  the  enemy ;  those 
in  opposition  to  the  Administration  were  oftentimes  de- 
prived of  the  usual  civil  rights  enjoyed  in  ordinary  times. 
Many  Democrats  held  that  the  Union   could  never  be 


The  Early  Republicans  93 

*' pinned  together  by  bayonets,"  and  that  a  Union  under 
such  coercion  would  not  be  worth  the  having.  This  op- 
position to  the  war  caused  many  War  Democrats  to  join 
the  Republicans,  and  it  made  it  difficult  for  the  Democrats 
to  gain  support  in  the  North  on  the  issues  of  reconstruc- 
tion and  finance  growing  out  of  the  war.  For  nearly  a 
generation,  the  Democratic  party  suffered  damage  in  pub- 
lic estimation  at  the  North  on  account  of  its  attitude 
during  the  war. 

After  the  war  the  Southern  Democrats,  now  including 
all  white  men,  naturally  looked  to  their  Democratic 
friends  in  the  North  for  relief  from  the  hard 

.      ,  .  -        Reunion  of 

reconstruction  measures  of  the  congressional  Northern  and 
party,  while  the  congressional  reconstruction         Southern 

^        "^  °  Democrats. 

policy  of  the  Republicans,  led  by  radicals  like 
Thaddeus  Stevens,  had  for  its  policy  the  vesting  of  politi- 
cal power  in  the  hands  of  the  negroes,  or  proportionately 
divesting  the  Southern  whites  of  such  power,  to  the  end 
that  the  reunion  of  the  two  wings  of  the  Democratic 
party  would  not  be  able  to  restore  that  party  to  power. 
The  obvious  incapacity  of  the  negroes  to  protect  them- 
selves, and  Southern  election  methods,  prevented  the  re- 
alization of  this  purpose.  The  Republican  party  itself 
finally  came  to  the  policy  (though  not  formally  an- 
nounced) of  leaving  Southern  elections  and  Southern  suf- 
frage to  the  Southern  States,  without  interference  from 
national  authority. 


CHAPTER  VIII 

RECENT    PARTY  HISTORY 

THE  twenty  years  from  1876  to  1896  appear  to  mark 
another  distinct  period  in  party  history.  After  1876, 
Fifth  Period  of  the  "Southern  question" — including  topics 
Party  History,  relating  to  slavery,  the  negro,  the  war,  and  re- 
construction— no  longer  dominated  politics.  As  effective 
issues  these  subjects  were  largely  eliminated.  The  origi- 
nal mission  of  the  Republican  party  had  been  accom- 
plished, and  in  this  period  there  were  no  very  clear  lines  of 
division  between  the  parties  on  political  issues  and  public 
policies.  The  parties  appealed  to  tradition,  party  preju- 
dices, and  the  power  of  party  habit  for  support ;  the  party 
managers  relied  on  the  power  of  organization,  the  desire 
of  the  "ins"  to  remain  in,  of  the  "outs  "  to  get  in,  on 
appeals  to  the  past,  on  party  names  and  party  loyalty  as 
forces  for  holding  the  parties  together.  The  organiza- 
tions were  made  more  powerful,  but  vital  force  was  lack- 
ing because  of  lack  of  distinct  and  clearly  cut  differences 
on  public  issues.  The  parties  went  on  existing  "because 
they  had  existed;  the  mill  went  on  turning  but- there  was 
no  grist  to  grind."  *  There^were,  of  course,  public  ques- 
tions,— the  tariff,  civil  service  reform,  governmental 
control  of  railways,  silver  and  finance,  the  control  of 
the  liquor  traffic, —  but  the  parties  assumed  no  pro- 
nounced or  opposing  positions  upon  these.     There  were 

*  Bryce. 
94 


Recent  Party  History  95 

Free-Traders  and  Protectionists  in  both  parties, — Free- 
Trade  Republicans  and  Protectionist  Democrats;  there 
were  "Silver  men  "  and  inflationists  as  well  as  "Gold 
men  "  and  contractionists  in  both  parties.  States'  rights 
Democrats  as  well  as  nationalizing  Republicans  favored 
the  enlargement  of  State  agencies  and  governmental  pow- 
ers in  the  control  of  railways  and  other  corporations. 
On  minor  issues  each  party  was  similarly  divided.  This 
was  a  period  in  which  the  contests  tended  to  become  per- 
sonal, and  factions  arose  within  the  parties.  There  were 
"Stalwarts"  and  "Half-Breeds"  among  the  Republicans, 
and  " Tammany ites  "  and  "  Anti-Tammany ites,"  "Snap- 
pers "  and  "Anti-Snappers  "  among  the  Democrats,  and 
"Mugwumps  "  and  "Goo-Goos  "  '  among  all  parties.  In 
the  large  parties,  machine  politics  became  highly  devel- 
oped, and  bosses  and  rings  rose  to  a  flourishing  state. 
Convention  contests  were  about  men  rather  than  about 
principles. 

While  party  issues  were  not  clearly  defined  in  this 
period,  there  were  party  tendencies  that  were  clearly 
marked.  The  Republicans  tended  to  become 
distinctly  a  "^Protectionist  party,  while  the  toward  Party 
Democrats  tended,  though  not  so  positively,  Divisions  on 
to  become  a  party  for  Free  Trade  and  a  reve- 
nue tariff.  By  1892,  the  parties  came  to  a  clear-cut  issue 
upon  that  question,  the  Democrats  coming  out  boldly  for 
"a  tariff  for  revenue  only"  (a  policy  which,  after  they 
had  carried  the  election,  they  were  still  not  able  to  carry 
out  on  account  of  divisions  within  the  party),  while  the 
Republicans  stood  clearly,  as  they  had  done  in  the  cam- 
paigns of  1884  and  1888,  for  the  protective  policy.  It 
may  be  said  that  after  the  Republicans  accepted  the  lead- 
ership of  Mr.  Blaine  in  1884,  their  party  may  be  consid- 
ered as  pronouncedly  for  Protection;  that  is,  they  had 
come  to  the  policy  of  levying  taxes  on  imports,  not  for 

*  A  nickname  for  goody-goody  reformers. 


96    Political  Parties  and  Party  Problems 

purposes  of  revenue  primarily,  but  for  purposes  of  pro- 
tecting certain  industries.  The  Republicans  were  not 
originally  a  Protectionist  party.  They  were  not  brought 
into  being  for  that  cause,  and  former  Free-Trade  Demo- 
crats and  Free-Soilers  helped  make  up  its  voting  strength. 
The  first  Republican  platform  in  1856  said  nothing  upon 
the  subject  of  Protection,  but,  as  the  successor  and  heir 
to  the  Whigs,  the  Republicans  inherited  Protectionist 
tendencies  and  constituencies.  In  their  platform  of  i860, 
the  Whig  element  in  the  Republican  party  gently  led  the 
Free-Soil  Democrats  in  the  direction  of  Protection  by  a 
mild  declaration  in  favor  of  duties  on  imports  so  adjusted 
"as  to  encourage  the  development  of  the  industrial  in- 
Repubiicans  tcrcsts  of  the  wholc  country . ' '  This  was  looked 
and  the  Tariff,  ^q  ^s  a  poHcy  that  would  secure  "liberal  wages 
to  the  workingmen  and  remunerative  prices  to  agricul- 
ture." This  clever  bid  for  the  labor  vote  in  the  North 
and  especially  for  Protectionist  votes  in  Pennsylvania, 
may  have  had  a  decisive  influence  in  the  election  of  Lin- 
coln.* After  the  war  the  Protectionist  policy  became  more 
pronounced  in  the  Republican  party,  and  under  the  lead- 
ership of  Mr.  Blaine  and  Mr.  McKinley  the  party  became 
definitely  committed  to  that  policy,  as  much  so  as  the 
Whig  party  in  its  best  days  under  the  leadership  of  Clay. 
After  the  election  of  the  second  Harrison  in  1888,  the 
Republicans,  led  by  Mr.  McKinley  in  the  House  of 
Representatives,  enacted  a  high-protective  measure,  the 
McKinley  Bill,  in  1890.  Industrial  depression,  labor 
troubles,  and  hard  times  caused  reaction  against  the  Re- 
publicans and  the  consequent  election  of  a  Democratic 
Congress  in  1890  and  a  Democratic  President  in  1892. 
These  elections  were  called  Democratic  "landslides,"  i,  e,, 
overwhelming  Democratic  victories.  Traditional  Repub^ 
Hcan  States,  like  Illinois  and  Wisconsin,  were  carried  by 
the  Democrats,  and  Ohio  was  almost  lost  to  the  Republi- 

'  Blaine's  Twenty  Years, 


Recent  Party  History  97 

cans.  The  Democratic  party,  though  united  in  securing 
the  victory,  was  greatly  disappointed  in  its  results.  Their 
President,  Mr.  Cleveland,  was  unable  to  lead     ^ 

'  '  Democratic 

his  party  or  keep  it  united  on  public  policies.  Schism  under 
It  had  been  held  together  by  the  cohesive  Cleveland, 
power  of  the  organization,  or  the  hope  of  office,  or  the 
hope  of  better  times  under  a  change  of  administration, 
and  by  an  evasive  platform,  as  in  1856.  But,  internally 
and  really,  the  Democracy  was  hopelessly  divided.  This 
is  seen  in  its  divisions  on  the  tariff,  but  more  especially 
by  internal  differences  on  finance, — in  the  respective  atti- 
tudes of  its  Eastern  and  Western  wings  toward  financial 
policies  and  the  moneyed  classes.  A  new  sectionalism 
had  arisen,  based  on  differing  financial  views  and  condi- 
tions. The  West  and  South,  the  agricultural  sections, 
were  demanding  a  change  in  the  financial  policy  of  the 
Government.  Under  these  conditions  Mr.  Cleveland's 
administration  suffered  one  of  the  most  sweeping  and 
phenomenal  defeats  in  the  State  and  congressional  elec- 
tions of  1894  ever  recorded  in  the  annals  of  any  party. 
The    Republican    "landslide"    was    unprece--,        ^   ,^ 

^  ^  Unprecedented 

dented.  The  Democrats  were  buried  under  Defeat  of  the 
tremendous  majorities  in  every  Northern  ^e^^ocracy. 
State.  The  "solid  South  "  was  all  that  was  left  to  them. 
The  Republicans  under  the  leadership  of  Mr.  Hanna  and 
Mr.  McKinley,  the  apostles  of  Protection,  were  prepar- 
ing again  to  appeal  to  the  country  on  the  issue  of  the 
tariff,  when  they  were  called  upon  to  face  a  realignment 
of  parties  brought  about  by  industrial,  social,  and  politi- 
cal forces  that  had  been  at  work  within  the  parties  and  in 
third-party  organizations  for  two  decades. 

The  year  1896  will  always  be  looked  to  as  a  landmark 
in  party  history.  It  is  like  the  year  1 860.  It  ^j^^  y^^  ^^^ 
uncovered  another  notable  division  within  the  a  Pouticai 
Democratic  party.  It  marked  a  break-up  in  old  landmark, 
party  ties.     Like  the  years  1856  and  i860,  the  year  1896 


gS    Political  Parties  and  Party  Problems 

illustrated  forcibly  the  influence  of  third  parties  and 
political  agitation  within  and  without  party  control,  in 
modifying  the  course  of  the  old  party  organizations. 
The  contest  of  1896  did  not  bring  a  new  party  into  the 
arena  to  contest  the  supremacy  with  the  Republicans, 
but  it  witnessed  a  considerable  break  in  the  Republican 
ranks  on  the  silver  question  and  such  a  modification  in 
the  direction  and  leadership  of  the  Democratic  party  that 
it„was^ frequently  held  that  a  new  party  was  contending 
for  power,  and  the  contest  presented  a  situation  in  which 
party  lines  ran  across  all  traditions. 

This  new  situation  in  party  conditions  should  not  be 
looked  upon  merely  as  the  result  of  a  sudden  impulse,  or 
The  New  excitcd  frcnzy,  within  the  notable  Democratic 
Democracy     Convention  that  nominated  Mr.  Bryan  in  1896. 

Repudiates        ,  <•  •  i  i 

the  Old  -It  was  not  a  matter  of  surprise  to  those  who 

Leadership,  j^^id  been  intelligent  observers  of  the  course  of 
events  that  the  Democratic  party  cut  loose  from  the 
moorings  to  which  Mr.  Cleveland  and  the  Eastern 
wing  of  the  Democracy  had  attempted  to  bind  it.  The 
Southern  and  Western  wings  of  the  party  believed  that 
the  course  the  Democracy  pursued  in  1896  was  essential 
to  party  preservation.  If  in  the  face  of  the  industrial  and 
political  situation  of  that  year  it  had  renominated  Mr. 
Cleveland,  or  followed  in  the  course  marked  out  by  his 
leadership,  it  would  probably  have  come  in  third  in  the 
count  of  the  electoral  votes.  In  that  case  the  Populist 
party  would  have  come  into  greater  prominence  and 
would,  as  the  election  returns  of  1894  clearly  indicated, 
have  carried  more  States  (though  probably  not  in  the  ag- 
gregate a  larger  popular  vote)  than  the  Cleveland  De- 
mocracy. It  is  conceivable  that  the  National  Democratic 
party  would  have  given  way,  throughout  the  West  and 
South,  as  it  had  already  done  in  several  of  the  Western 
States,  to  a  new  organization.  The  Populists  were  posi- 
tive, aggressive,  and   growing.     The  times  called  for  a 


Recent  Party  History  99 

radical  party.  The  Republicans  had  now  clearly  be- 
come a  conservative  party,  as  that  party  was  standing 
for  the  industrial  status,  against  any  positive  advance 
toward  nationalizing  the  great  quasi-public  corporations 
and  agencies,  and  they  were  standing  practically  for 
the  same  financial  and  industrial  policies  that  had  been 
promoted  by  Mr.  Cleveland's  administration.  It  was 
these  new  questions — money  and  transportation,  not 
the  tariff — on  which  men  were  now  to  divide.  On  the 
positive  and  radical  propositions  for  a  larger  social  con- 
trol of  monopoly  powers,  including  the  power  of  issuing 
money,  the  conservative  Democracy  and  the  Repub- 
licans were  in  essential  harmony.  This  was  so  clearly 
the  case  that  the  Cleveland  Democrats,  when  the  new 
issues  were  presented,  could  easily,  as  they  generally 
did,  vote  for  the  Republican  candidate.  The  radical  and 
social  Democracy  felt  that  the  powerful  classes  were 
merged  in  a  community  of  interests,  feelings,  and  fears. 
The  millionaire  managers  of  great  trusts,  the  presidents 
of  great  banking  concerns,  the  presidents  of  the  great  rail- 
ways, men  who  had  large  industrial  and  business  inter- 
ests at  stake — disregarded  party  ties  and  traditions  and 
united  naturally  with  the  conservative  elements  under 
Republican  leadership.  The  agricultural  and  premonitions 
laboring  masses,  though  discontented  and  dis-  of  a  ciass 
tressed,  and  ready  for  radical  change,  did  not  PartiesVere 
perceive,  or  believe,  that  they  had  a  community  Dividing 
of  interests  in  antagonism  to  those  whose  great 
commercial  and  moneyed  interests  had  been  threatened 
by  the  larger  popular  control  of  corporate  forces  toward 
which  the  Bryan  Democracy  was  committed;  and  their 
voting  strength  was  very  largely  influenced  and  controlled 
by  the  forces  representing  the  powerful  managers  and 
captains  of  industry.  Mr.  Bryce  has  said  that  parties  in 
Europe  differ  from  those  in  America,  because  in  this 
country   the   line   of   cleavage   between    parties    is    not 


ioo  Political  Parties  and  Party  Problems 

horizontal  but  vertical.  That  is,  the  line  separating  the 
Republicans  from  the  Democrats  in  America  runs  up  and 
down  through  all  social  classes,  leaving  the  rich  and  the 
poor,  the  high  and  the  low,  and  the  well-to-do  in  approxi- 
mately equal  numbers  in  both  parties ;  while  in  Europe 
the  cleavage  between  parties  cuts  horizontally,  leaving  the 
rich,  the  powerful,  the  well-born  in  one  party,  and  the 
poor,  struggling  proletariat,  with  tendencies  toward 
socialism  or  anarchy,  in  the  other.  The  campaign  of 
1896  is  notable  as  marking  a  tendency,  if  not  an  accom- 
plished condition,  in  the  direction  of  European  divisions. 
It  is  a  most  unfortunate  line  of  division,  and  one  which 
it  was  hoped  American  Democracy  would  be  able  to  pre- 
vent, one  most  threatening  to  the  peace  and  welfare  of 
the  republic.  Where  the  responsibility  lies  for  such  a 
condition  is,  of  course,  a  question  for  dispute. 

This  significant  social  change  was  not  wrought  in  a 

single  year.     It  was  not  the  result  of  convention  oratory. 

The  action  of  the  Democratic  party  in  1806  was 

Third  Party       ,      ^  ^  ^  r  ^tT  •   i 

Influence  and  but  a  symptom,  not  a  cause,  of  the  social  con- 
the  Democ-  ditions,  or  the  social  disease.  This  action  was 
but  a  result  of  political  and  social  forces  and 
conflicts  that  had  been  in  operation  for  years  before.  To 
understand  the  party  schisms  that  then  occurred  it  is  ne- 
cessary, as  in  studying  the  notable  schism  of  1 860,  to  trace 
briefly  the  political  agitations  and  movements  within  and 
without  the  old  parties  during  the  preceding  decades. 
To  this  end  it  is  important  to  note  certain  third-party 
movements  and  their  causes. 

The  National^  or  the  Greenback,  party  had  its  origin  in 
the  financial  legislation  growing  out  of  the  Civil  War.  In 
Greenback  the  prosccution  of  the  war  it  was  found  to  be 
Discussion,  ncccssary,  or  thought  to  be  by  Congress,  to 
issue  a  large  quantity  of  Treasury  notes,  or  greenbacks, 
as  a  means  of  securing  money  to  conduct  the  war.  Four 
hundred  and  fifty  million  dollars  of  these  notes  were 


Recent  Party  History  loi 

issued.  They  were  declared  by  the  law  issuing  them  to 
be  **  lawful  money  and  a  legal  tender  in  payment  of  all 
debts,  public  or  private,  except  duties  on  imports  and  in- 
terest on  the  public  debts. ' '  After  the  Civil  War  Legai-Xender 
the  question  arose  as  to  whether  these  notes  '^*^*- 

should  be  retired  from  circulation,  and  whether  also  they 
could  be  fairly  and  legitimately  used  to  pay  a  part  of  the 
bonded  debt  of  the  nation.  The  Administration,  desirous 
of  bringing  the  country  back,  as  soon  as  possible,  to  a 
specie  basis,  held  the  orthodox  view  of  regarding  these 
notes  not  as  money  but  as  a  debt  of  the  Government,  as 
promises  to  pay,  as  a  forced  loan :  they  should  be  paid 
off,  or  retired  and  cancelled,  as  rapidly  as  possible.  The 
Administration  held  that  the  function  of  issuing  notes  to 
be  used  as  money  should  not  be  exercised  by  the  Govern- 
ment as  a  permanent  policy,  but  that  this  function  should 
be  delegated  to  the  banks,  and  that  the  bonds,  held  very 
largely  by  the  banks,  should  be  paid  "in  coin."  * 

An  Act  of  March  12,  1866,  authorized  the  funding  of  a 
part  of  the  bonded  debt,  or  a  change  in  its  form,  p  j.^  ^ 
and  the  cancellation  of  $10,000,000  of  the  Secretary 
greenbacks  within  six  months ;  and  thereafter  ^^^cuiioch. 
$4,000,000,  or  less,  of  the  greenbacks  each  month  should  be 

*  "The  theory  of  the  authors  of  the  Legal-Tender  Act  was  clearly  under- 
stood. They  held  the  issue  of  these  notes  to  be  simply  creation  of  a 
Government  floating  debt,  the  notes  being  endowed  with  special  privileges 
only  in  order  that  they  might  be  floated.  That  the  resort  to  legal-tender 
powers  was  an  evil  justified  only  by  extreme  emergency,  and  that  the  cir- 
culation of  Government  notes  in  any  form  was  a  purely  temporary  measure, 
were  the  unanimous  convictions  of  the  statesmen  who  contrived  the  system. 
The  logical  inference  that  these  Government  notes  would  be  paid  off  and 
cancelled  as  soon  as  the  war  deficiency  had  ended,  was  publicly  accepted. 
This  fact  is  clearly  proved  by  the  record.  The  statesmen  of  the  day  built 
up  the  national  banking  system  on  the  express  theory  that  the  bank-notes 
would  provide  the  requisite  currency  of  the  future,  whereas  the  Govern- 
ment notes  would  not." — Noyes,  Thirty  Years  of  American  Finance,  p.  8. 
This  indicates  clearly  the  attitude  and  policy  toward  the  greenback  cur- 
rency which  the  Greenbackers  opposed. 


I02  Political  Parties  and  Party  Problems 

retired.  Secretary  McCulloch,  who  believed  in  the  policy 
of  retirement  and  contraction  of  the  greenbacks,  retired 
the  maximum  amount  allowed  by  law,  and,  by  1867, 
the  greenbacks  had  been  reduced  to  $356,000,000.  The 
friends  of  the  greenbacks  throughout  the  country  ex- 
erted their  influence  on  Congress,  and  an  Act  of  February 
4,  1868,  forbade  further  retirement.  The  object  of  the 
gold-standard  policy  pursued  by  Secretary  McCulloch 
was  to  convert  United  States  notes  into  interest-bearing 
bonds,  force  immediate  or  rapid  resumption  of  specie 
payments,  and  the  substitution  of  bank-notes  for  green- 
backs. Secretary  McCulloch  and  his  financial  supporters 
urged  firm  and  steady  contraction,  that  the  retirement  of 
the  greenback  circulation  should  be  definitely  and  un- 
changeably established,  and  that  the  process  should  go  on 
as  rapidly  as  possible.  McCulloch  held  that  the  green- 
backs were  unconstitutional,  and  that  to  retain  them 
would  be  "to  dishonor  our  engagements  and  to  wander 
far  from  the  old  landmarks  both  in  finance  and  ethics.'*  * 
This  policy  aroused  strong  popular  opposition,  which 
was  reflected  in  Congress  by  representatives  of  all  parties, 
by  men  like  John  Sherman,  Oliver  P.  Morton, 
Greenback  Thaddcus  Stevens,  William  D.  Kelley,  and 
Check  Con-  Benjamin  F.  Butler  among  Republicans,  and 
men  like  Geo.  H.  Pendleton  and  Thos.  A.  Hen- 
dricks among  the  Democrats.  The  disordered  markets 
during  and  following  1866  and  the  fall  in  prices  were  at- 
tributed in  the  public  mind  and  by  many  public  men  to 
the  Treasury  policy  of  contraction,  of  reducing  the  out- 
standing notes.'  The  funding  policy  had  increased  the 
amount  of  six-per-cent.  bonds  by  $637,000,000,  and  the 
result,  it  was  asserted,  was  a  contraction  of  the  currency, 
or  an  appreciation  of  the  money  standard,  an  increase  in 
the  burden  of  public  and  private  debts,  a  stringency  in 

'  McCulloch's  Recollections, 

*  O.  P.  Morton,  Senate  speech,  Jan.  9,  1868. 


Recent  Party  History  103 

the  money  market,  a  fall  in  prices,  and  a  serious  derange- 
ment of  the  business  of  the  country.*  It  was  held  that 
the  "amount  of  legal  tender  now  outstanding  is  not  too 
much  for  the  present  condition  of  the  country,"  and  it 
was  asked  why,  "when  we  have  $450,000,000  bearing  no 
interest,  and  which  need  bear  no  interest,  should  these  be 
taken  up  and  put  into  bonds?  "  '  It  was  this  opposition 
that  checked  Secretary  McCuUoch's  policy  of  contraction, 
that  ended  for  six  years  all  serious  efforts  at  resumption 
of  specie  payment,  and  that  introduced  the  country  to 
"the  beginning  of  the  fiat-money  party."'  Between 
March,  1872,  and  January,  1874,  the  amount  of  the  green- 
backs was  increased  some  $25,000,000,  so  that  the  out- 
standing amount  by  1874  was  $382,000,000.  The  panic 
of  1873  and  the  hard  times  resulting  therefrom 
led  to  still  further  demand  for  the  issue  of  Grant  vetoes 
Treasury  notes,   but  the  "Inflation  Bill"   of  ^"••ti^e'- 

•  ,•  r  .  t  1  Inflation. 

1874,  providmg  for  an  mcrease,  was  vetoed  by 
President  Grant.  This  veto  aroused  great  opposition  in 
Western  communities  that  were  favorable  to  the  green> 
back  circulation.  The  Resumption  Act  of  1875  Resumption 
was  even  more  objectionable  to  greenback  ^^^^  ^^^s. 
sentiment,  as  under  its  operation  the  greenback  circula- 
tion was  to  be  gradually  reduced.  The  sentiment  for 
the  greenback  again  asserted  itself  in  Congress,  and  by  an 
Act  of  May  31,  1878,  all  further  retirement  or  The  Green- 
cancellation  of  legal-tender  notes  was  forbid-  backs  are  Re- 
den,  but  "when  redeemed  or  received  into  the  *^^°^  '  ^  ^  ' 
Treasury  they  shall  be  reissued  and  paid  out  again  and 
kept  in  circulation."     Such  is  the  law  until  this  day.* 

'  Sherman,  I^orty  Years  in  the  House  and  Senate,  vol.  i.,  p.  385. 

'  John  Sherman  in  the  Senate,  April  9th,  and  Thaddeus  Stevens  in  the 
House,  March  16,  1866,  cited  by  Noyes,  Thirty  Years  of  American 
Finance^  p.  I3. 

^  Noyes,  p.  16. 

*  The  law  of  March  14,  1900,  does  not  materially  modify  this  status  of 
the  greenback. 


I04  Political  Parties  and  Party  Problems 

In  this  period  there  was  a  constant  struggle,  in  Con- 
gress and  out,  on  the  one  hand  to  preserve  or  increase 
the  greenbacks,  to  inflate  the  currency  or  to  save  it  from 
contraction,  and,  on  the  other  hand,  to  retire  this  cur- 
rency in  favor  of  bank-notes.  This,  the  Greenbackers 
alleged,  left  the  volume  of  the  currency  at  the  mercy  of 
the  banks.  The  advocates  of  the  greenbacks  looked  upon 
these  notes  not  as  an  obligation  to  be  paid  off  or  to  be 
converted  into  bonds,  but  as  money,  constitutional  cur- 
rency, as  better  than  bank-notes,  for  they  were  circulating 
without  interest  and  were  secured  by  the  same  Govern- 
ment credit ;  and,  if  they  were  to  be  regarded  as  a  debt, 
they  were,  in  any  case,  the  least  burdensome  of  all  the 
forms  of  the  public  indebtedness ;  and  they  believed  that 
the  withdrawal  of  the  greenbacks  would  add  to  the  burden 
of  all  debts  of  the  people  and  cripple  industry. 

Coupled  with  the  issue  over  Government  paper  cur- 
rency was  the  question  as  to  the  money  in  which  certain 
Payment  of  Government  bonds  were  to  be  paid.  By  the  law 
the  Bonded  they  were  payable  in  "lawful  money," — that 
^®^*'  is,  in  greenbacks.    The  bonds  had  been  bought, 

while  the  Government  was  in  doubt  and  distress,  at  forty 
or  fifty  cents  on  the  dollar.  In  1867,  under  Secretary 
McCulloch's  policy,  the  five-twenties,  more  than  $1,500,- 
000,000  in  amount,  were  made  payable  in  coin.  The 
Greenbackers  asserted  that  this  was  not  re- 
backers'  Com-  quired  by  the  public  faith ;  that  it  was  an  act 
plaint  of  the  directly  in  the  interest  of  public  creditors  and 
PoUcy  toward  ^t  the  expense  of  a  heavily  burdened  and  tax- 
the  Bonded  ridden  people ;  that  the  money  which  was  good 
enough  for  the  soldier  who  had  risked  his  life 
for  the  nation  should  be  good  enough  for  the  bondholder, 
who  had  risked  nothing,  not  even  his  gold,  except  at 
great  odds,  but  who  was  now  doubling  and  trebling  his 
rate  of  interest;  that  with  gold  at  a  premium  of  140  and 
with  the  bonds  exempt  from  State  and  municipal  taxation 


Recent  Party  History  105 

the  nominal  interest  rate  on  the  bonds  of  six  per  cent, 
would  be  virtually  increased  to  twelve  per  cent.,  and  with 
Government  securities  bearing  such  a  high  rate  of  interest 
and  with  bonds  thus  being  pushed  to  a  premium,  no  capi- 
talist would  take  his  money  out  of  Government  securities 
to  risk  it  in  ordinary  business ;  that  appreciating  bonds 
and  increasing  rate  of  Government  interest  were  certain  to 
crush  the  life  out  of  industrial  pursuits ;  that  in  the  marts  of 
trade  money  could  not  be  obtained  for  legitimate  business 
for  less  than  twelve  per  cent,  or  fifteen  per  cent,  as  long 
as  capitalists  and  bankers  could  get  ten  or  twelve  per  cent, 
on  their  bonds ;  that  under  this  system  of  gold  payment 
even  greater  profits  were  being  allowed  to  the  banks ;  for 
under  the  financial  system  which  the  gold  policy  was  pro- 
moting the  banks  were  to  be  allowed  to  use  their  bonds 
(so  cheaply  obtained  and  now  made  so  valuable)  as  the 
basis  of  issuing  their  bank-notes,  and  these  bank-notes 
were  to  be  substituted  for  the  greenbacks  and  were  to  be 
loaned  to  the  people  by  the  bankers  at  a  high  rate  of  in- 
terest, while  the  greenbacks,  the  "money  of  the  people," 
were  to  be  retired  and  destroyed.  These  were,  in  brief, 
the  main  contentions  of  those  who  opposed  the  financial 
policy  of  the  Government  in  the  decade  following  the  war. 

It  was  this  financial  struggle,  between  1866  and  1876, 
that  gave  rise  to  the  Greenback  party.  The  chief  pur- 
pose of  the  party  was  to  save  the  greenbacks  xhe  Green- 
from  destruction,  to  increase  their  issue,  and  to  ^^^^  ^^^^y- 
make  their  use  permanent,  and  to  pay  with  these  notes 
all  Government  obligations  except  such  as  were  by  exist- 
ing contracts  made  payable  in  coin.  This  was  virtually 
the  position  of  the  majority  of  the  Democratic  party  in 
the  West  in  1868,  led  by  men  like  Pendleton,  Hendricks, 
and  Voorhees.  The  greenback  idea  also  received  much 
encouragement  from  prominent  Republican  leaders. 

In  Indianapolis,  May  17,  1876,  the  Greenbackers  nomi- 
nated Peter  Cooper,  of  New  York,  for  President,  and 


io6  Political  Parties  and  Party  Problems 

Samuel  F.  Gary,  of  Ohio,  for  Vice-President.  The  party 
claimed  to  be  called  into  existence  "  by  the  necessities  of 
the  people,  to  furnish  relief  to  the  depressed  industries  of 
the  country." 

They  demanded  "the  immediate  and  unconditional  re- 
peal of  the  Specie  Resumption  Act  of  January  14,  1875, 
and  the  rescue  of  our  industries  from  the  ruin  and  disaster 
resulting  from  its  enforcement." 

"We  believe  that  a  United  States  note,  issued  directly  by 
the  Government  and  convertible  on  demand  into  United  States 
Greenback  obligations  [bonds],  bearing  a  rate  of  interest  not 
Platform.  exceeding  3.65  per  cent,  per  annum,  and  exchange- 
able for  United  States  notes  at  par,  will  afford  the  best  circu- 
lating medium  ever  devised.  Such  United  States  notes  should 
be  full  legal  tender  for  all  purposes,  except  for  the  payment  of 
such  obligations  as  are,  by  existing  contracts,  especially  made 
payable  in  coin ;  and  we  hold  that  it  is  the  duty  of  the  Govern- 
ment to  provide  such  a  circulating  medium,  and  insist  in  the 
language  of  Thomas  Jefferson  that  bank  paper  must  be  sup- 
pressed and  the  circulation  restored  to  whom  it  belongs. 

**  We  earnestly  protest  against  any  further  issue  of  gold 
bonds  to  foreigners.  The  American  people  will  gladly  take 
these  bonds  if  made  payable  at  the  option  of  the  holder. ' ' 

The  greenback  bonds  and  the  greenbacks  were  to  be 
interchangeable.  If  a  man  had  more  money  than  he  could 
The  Inter-  profitably  use  in  business  he  could  buy  bonds ; 
changeable  if  he  needed  money  for  his  business  he  could 
^°°*^*  exchange  his  bonds  for  the  money.     Such  an 

interchangeable  bond  would  help  to  expand  the  currency, 
for  any  one  buying  a  bond 

**  could  deliver  it  to  his  creditor,  and  if  the  creditor  wanted  to 
dispose  of  it  he  could  also  deliver  it  as  money,  the  money  for 
it  being  in  the  United  States  Treasury  to  be  had  for  the  asking. 
So  that  the  very  bond  would  become  an  extension  of  the  cur- 
rency, being  used  in  business  interchangeably  with  currency. '  *  ^ 
'  Butler's  Book,  p.  957. 


Recent  Party  History  107 

This  plan  was  intended  by  the  Greenbackers  for  the  re- 
lief of  the  United  States  Government  from  a  high  rate  of 
interest  and  of  the  people  from  a  stringency  in  the  money 
market. 

The  Greenbackers  believed  in  **  fiat  money," — that 
governments  declare  by  their  fiat  what  shall  be  money 
for  their  peoples ;  that  all  money,  metallic  or  Greenback 
paper,  should  be  issued  and  its  volume  con-^'^®*^^^**"®^- 
trolled  by  the  Government,  not  by  banking  corporations ; 
that  a  precious  or  dear  commodity,  like  gold,  which  may 
be  limited  in  quantity  by  the  fortunes  of  mining  ventures, 
or  by  commercial  corners  on  Wall  Street,  is  not  neces- 
sary to  stability  or  honesty  in  currency ;  that  the  value 
of  money  depends  not  on  its  substance,  nor  the  labor  cost 
of  its  material,  nor  upon  its  "redemption,"  but  upon  the 
relation  between  the  money-demand  and  the  money-sup- 
ply ;  that  money-value  is  not  intrinsic, — no  value  is  in- 
trinsic,— but  that  the  value  of  money,  like  that  of  all 
commodities,  will  depend  chiefly  upon  the  great  law  of 
supply  and  demand.  The  Greenbackers  held  that  money 
is  the  creature  of  law,  not  of  custom ;  that  gold  was  not 
a  divinely  appointed  money  substance,  but  that  in  civ- 
ilized States,  where  men  had  ceased  to  rely  on  varying 
customs  in  determining  the  money  substance,  the  statute 
law  of  the  sovereign  could  determine  that  any  cheap  sub- 
stance might  be  the  final  money  of  the  realm,  to  be  ac- 
cepted everywhere  for  taxes  and  debts.  Paper  money, 
limited  in  supply,  put  forth  by  a  financially  responsible 
government,  with  the  unlimited  power  of  taxation,  mak- 
ing it  receivable  for  all  debts  public  and  private  without 
exception,  involving  no  promise,  and  guaranteeing  nb 
redemption  except  the  redemption  involved  in  receiving 
it  for  taxes,  and  compelling  its  acceptance  for  debts, — 
this,  the  Greenbackers  held,  would  be  the  best  and  most 
rational  money  that  could  be  devised.  They  did  not 
demand  an  unlimited  issue  of  paper.     That  oft-repeated 


io8  Political  Parties  and  Party  Problems 

assertion  was,  of  course,  a  canard  to  bring  the  party  into 
disrepute.  The  issues  were  to  be  limited  by  the  require- 
ments of  business,  by  the  extent  to  which  the  notes  could 
be  absorbed  by  the  country ;  and  this,  it  was  contended, 
would  be  automatic  and  self-regulating  under  the  opera- 
tion of  the  interchangeable  bond.  Nor  did  the  Green- 
backers  assert  that  law  could  create  value  further  than 
that  the  law  could  increase  or  decrease  the  amount  of 
paper  money,  and  add  to  the  demand. for  Government 
paper  by  decreeing  the  universal  use — payment  of  debts 
and  taxes — to  which  it  could  be  put. 

The  greenback  idea  of  money  has  had  a  tremendous  in- 
fluence on  politics  and  parties.  It  affected  voters  in  all 
Influence  of  parties  and  became  the  basis  of  the  money 
the  Greenback  plank  in  later  and  larger  parties  than  the  Green- 
Poutics  backers.     The  constitutionality  of  greenback 

and  Parties,  money  has  received  the  sanction  of  a  Supreme 
Court  decision,  and  recent  party  history  shows  that  this 
idea  of  money  is  much  more  prevalent  in  America  to-day 
than  when  it  was  first  launched  as  the  basis  of  a  party.* 

The  new  party  and  its  demands  were,  as  is  usual  with 
third  parties,  met  with  derision  and  ridicule.  Its  advo- 
cates were  ever  ready  to  talk  on  the  money  question  on 
the  street-corner  or  in  the  country  cross-roads  store ;  and 
they  were  ridiculed  as  impecunious  debtors  who  wished 
to  cheat  their  creditors,  and  who  never  worked  "except 
with  their  mouths."  But  the  Greenbackers  were,  as  a 
rule,  earnest,  honest,  and  patriotic  men,  humble  wealth- 
producers,  whose  interests  had  led  them  to  an  intelligent 
study,  as  far  as  their  limitations  permitted,  of  the  issues 
on  which  they  constantly  challenged  public  discussion. 
The  movement  had  its  origin  among  common  folk  and  it 
was  without  great  scholars  orleaders,  though  some  able  men 
among  philanthropists  and  scholars  gave  their  assent  to  it. 

•Compare  the  vote  of  1880  in  support  of  this  idea  with  that  of  1892  and 
1896.     Noyes,  Thirty  Years  of  American  Finance^  p.  181. 


Recent  Party  History  109 

In  1876  the  Greenbackers  cast  81,000  votes  for  Peter 
Cooper  for  President.  In  1880  they  nominated  James 
B.  Weaver  of  Iowa,  and  B.  J.  Chambers  of  Growth  of  the 
Texas,  for  President  and  Vice-President,  and  Greenbackers. 
cast  308,000  votes.  In  this  campaign  they  advanced  new 
and  positive  proposals  on  industrial  questions ;  that  labor 
should  be  protected  by  an  eight-hour  law,  by  inspection 
of  factories,  mines,  and  workshops ;  against  the  importa- 
tion of  cheap  contract  labor ;  against  gigantic  land-grants 
to  railroads  and  corporations,  and  for  the  forfeiting  of 
grants  already  made  for  non-fulfilment  of  contract ;  for 
the  regulation  of  inter-State  commerce ;  for  a  graduated 
income  tax;  and  they  denounced  all  tendencies  and 
agencies  calculated  to  deprive  the  people  of  direct  power 
over  their  government. 

It  will  be  seen  from  these  declarations  that  the  Green- 
backers  were  the  forerunners  of,  and  largely  identical  with, 
the  labor  parties  and  Populists  who  came  after. 
In  1884,  the  Democrats,  whose  interests  were  backers  Disap^ 
more  threatened  by  the  presence  in  the  field  pear  as  a 
of  the  Greenback  organization,  brought  about 
fusion  between  the  two  parties  in  some  of  the  Western 
States, — and  fusion  with  Democracy  has  been  called  "the 
bourn  from  which  no  reform  party  ever  returns."  The 
Greenbackers  cast  but  175,000  votes  for  B.  F.  Butler  in 
1884,  who  ran  chiefly  to  draw  votes  away  from  Cleveland, 
and  in  1888  the  party  passed  into  history.  Its  members 
either  returned  to  their  old  parties  or  merged  with  the 
Union  Labor  party  of  that  year. 

The  Union  Labor  party  of  1888  was  the  sue-  The  Union 
cessor  of  the  Greenback  or  National  party.  It  ^*^°^  ^*^' 
reflected  the  cry  of  discontent  among  wealth-producers. 

**  Farmers  were  forced  by  poverty  to  mortgage  their  estates; 
low  prices  were  forcing  bankruptcy,  and  the  laborers  were 
sinking  into  greater  dependence.      Strikes   afford   no  relief; 


no  Political  Parties  and  Party  Problems 

business  men  find  collections  almost  impossible,  while  hundreds 
of  millions  of  idle  public  money  needed  for  relief  is  locked  up 
in  the  United  States  Treasury,  or  placed  without  interest  in 
favored  banks  in  grim  mockery  of  distress.  Land  monopoly 
flourishes  as  never  before,  and  more  owners  of  the  soil  are 
daily  becoming  tenants.  Great  transportation  corporations 
still  succeed  in  extorting  their  profits  on  watered  stock  through 
unjust  charges." 

The  party  asserted  the  existence  of  corruption  in  high 
places;  that  railroads  and  great  corporations  controlled 
legislation  and  judicial  decisions ;  that  the  United  States 
Senate  "has  become  an  open  scandal,  its  membership  be- 
ing purchased  by  the  rich  in  open  defiance  of  the  popular 
will."  The  party  appealed  to  the  voters  to  come  out 
of  the  old  parties  and  unite  with  the  Union  Labor  party 
to  relieve  the  distress  of  the  country.  The  appeal  was 
made  on  principles  identical  in  essential  respects  with  the 
purposes  of  the  Greenbackers  who  went  before  and  the 
Populists  who  came  after.  The  Union  Labor  vote  of 
1888  (146, QCX))  fell  below  that  of  the  Greenbackers  in  1884 
{175,000),  but  at  the  same  time  there  was  a  gain  of  more 
than  87,000  votes  over  the  Greenback  poll  of  1884,  in 
the  five  Western  agricultural  States,  presumably  among 
Democratic  constituencies,  of  Texas,  Arkansas,  Kansas, 
Minnesota,  and  Missouri.  The  farmers'  condition,  their 
granges,  alliances,  and  schoolhouse  meetings  were  pre- 
paring the  way  for  the  Populists. 

The  People  s  party,  or  Populists,  first  appeared  in 
American  politics  in  1890.  It  was  the  outgrowth  indi- 
The  People's  ^^^^ty  ^^  ^^  previous  party  movements  that 
Party,  or  we  have  described,  and,  immediately,  of  the 
opu  sts.  Farmers'  Alliance,  and  certain  labor  organiza- 
tions of  the  cities,  which  attempted  to  combine  rural  and 
urban  labor  in  a  party  for  the  control  of  legislation  in  the 
interest  of  the  common  people.  It  was  a  movement 
against  plutocracy,  against  the  great  accumulations  and 


Recent  Party  History  iii 

combinations  of  wealth,  against  the  control  of  the  country 
by  the  moneyed  monopolies.  The  movement  was  promot- 
ed by  economic  discontent,  hard  times,  and  dis-  opposition  to 
satisfaction,  and  it  was  prompted  by  a  feeling  Control  by  the 
that  unjust  burdens  were  being  borne  especially  ^*  * 

by  the  Southern  and  Western  farmers ;  that  wealth  was 
being  drained  from  the  West  to  accumulate  in  the  East. 
The  three  main  grievances  of  which  complaint  was  made 
related  to :  (i)  transportation,  (2)  land,  (3)  money. 

1.  As  to  transportation,  it  had  been  noticed  that  Con- 
gress had  been  very  lavish  in  Government  aid  and  pro- 
tection to  certain  great  railroad  corporations. 

.  ...  r       'I  1  Grievances  of 

The  active  participation  of  railroad  companies  the  PopuUsts: 
in  politics  and  their  methods  of  controlling  '•  Transporta- 
legislation,  no  matter  which  of  the  old  parties 
was  in  power,  excited  strong  opposition.  Congress  had 
been  slow  in  regulating  inter-State  commerce  by  pro- 
tecting the  producers,  and  when  a  law  was  passed  and  a 
commission  appointed  to  secure  fair  dealing  for  the  public, 
the  railways  did  what  they  could  to  violate  and  break 
down  the  legal  provisions  and  regulations.  These  com- 
panies were  charging  exceedingly  high  freight  rates,  and 
they  were  often  unjustly  discriminating  to  the  injury  of 
the  consumer  and  small  producer.  The  farmers  felt  that 
the  profits  on  their  products  were  being  eaten  up  by  trans- 
portation rates,  and  that  if  they  would  successfully  com- 
bat the  power  of  the  railroads  in  legislation  they  must 
combine  in  politics  to  bring  the  railroads  under  State 
control. 

2.  As  to  the  land  question,  it  was  found  that  much  of 
the  farming  land  in  the  West  was  bought  up  by  city  specu- 
lators.    These  men  did  nothing  to  improve  the 

land,  but  held  it  and  waited  for  the  settler  to 
come  along,  buy  part  of  it,  secure  his  loan  by  a  mortgage, 
and  by  his  own  labor  to  enhance  the  value  of  the  rest,  and 
then  it  was  only  at  higher  prices,  of  course,  that  the  settler, 


112  Political  Parties  and  Party  Problems 

whose  sacrifice  and  toil  had  created  the  values,  could  buy 
any  of  the  rest.  Great  tracts  of  land  were  held  out  of 
reach  of  the  home-hunters  for  the  enhancement  of  prices. 
These  lands,  in  many  cases,  had  been  given  as  a  free  gift 
to  the  railroads.* 

3.  Closely  connected  with  the  land  troubles  were  the 

money  grievances.     Farm  products  declined  in  price  and 

the  farmers  could  not  make  payment  on  their 

3.  Money.  tt  t  .  "^ 

mortgages.  Upon  borrowing  to  prevent  fore- 
closure, they  found  money  close,  or  they  had  to  pay 
what  seemed  to  them  an  exorbitant  rate  of  interest.  The 
Farmers'  Alliances  were  imbued  with  the  quantitative 
theory  of  money,  that  an  increased  money-supply  would 
Farmers'  ^^^^^  priccs.  They  bclievcd  that  falling  prices 
AUiances  and  had  been  causcd  not  by  the  increased  plenty 

theQuantita-       r^,      .  i^r.i.  ,1 

tive  Theory  of  ot  their  products,  for  their  crops  had  repeat- 
Money,  edly  failed,  but  by  the  relative  decrease  of 
the  money-supply.  Short  crops  and  low  prices  came  to- 
gether, and  the  farmers  concluded  either  that  the  rail- 
roads were  getting  the  profits,  or  that  money,  because  too 
scarce,  was  becoming  too  dear  in  terms  of  their  products. 
They  therefore  readily  accepted  the  Greenback  idea  of 
money  and  they  looked  with  favor  on  the  proposal  that 
the  National  Government  should  resume  the  free  coinage 
of  silver.  Free  coinage  was  calculated  to  increase  the 
money-supply,  and  it  would,  therefore,  be  a  temporary 
measure  of  relief  and  a  step  in  the  right  direction.  But 
the  Populists,  as  a  rule,  would  have  preferred  the  de- 
monetization of  gold  to  the  remonetization  of  silver, — the 
substitution  of  paper  for  metallic  money  and  the  conse- 
quent increase  of  legal-tender  paper  by  Government  issues. 
The  Populist  was  only  incidentally  a  silver  man, — to  him 
the  silver  policy  was  only  a  step  in  the  direction  of  the 
ideal. 

*  The  great  social  benefits  of  the  railways  were  largely  neglected  in  the 
Populist  consideration  of  the  subject. 


Recent  Party  History  113 

As  the  result  of  these  grievances  the  Farmers'  Alliances 

in  the  South  and  West  went  into  politics.     In  the  West, 

especially,    in    Kansas,    Nebraska,  Minnesota, 

and  South  Dakota,  the  campaign  of  1890  was    campaign  in 

remarkable.     Schoolhouses  were  packed  with        the  West, 

1890. 
political  gatherings,    and    men    deserted   their 

old  parties  by  thousands.  This  new  party  propaganda 
could  not  be  resisted  by  the  old  party  rallying  cries  over 
the  issues  of  the  war  and  the  tariff.  In  the  "Mining" 
and  * '  Granger ' '  States  of  the  West,  the  Populists  prac- 
tically absorbed  the  Democrats.  Republicanism  was  all 
that  was  left  to  oppose  them.  In  some  of  the  Southern 
States,  notably  in  North  Carolina,  Alabama,  and  Texas, 
the  Populists  threatened  Democratic  ascendancy.  There 
they  either  combined  with  or  absorbed  the  Republicans. 
As  a  weapon  against  the  dominant  Democratic  machine 
in  the  South,  controlled,  as  the  Populists  asserted,  by  the 
class  of  political  managers,  or  office-seekers,  or  by  the  old 
aristocracy,  or  by  the  commercial  spirit  of  that  so  th  r 
section,  many  Southern  Populists  were  ready  PopuUsts  and 
to  use  the  negro  vote ;  they  would  go  so  far  ^^^^  Rights, 
toward  equal  rights  and  fair  play  as  to  insist  that  intelli- 
gent negroes  should  be  allowed  to  cast  their  votes  and 
have  them  honestly  counted.  Populism  was  promoting 
divisions  among  the  Southern  whites  in  a  way  calculated 
to  destroy,  or  at  least  to  weaken,  the  force  of  the  race 
line  in  politics.  In  South  Carolina  the  Tillman  Democ- 
racy,  beinff  on  the  economic  issues   entirely 

•D  1--.     •        •,.       J-  :•  A  4.U-  TheTillman 

Populist     m     Its    disposition     and     sympathies,    Democracy  in 

completely  captured  the  Democratic  organiza-  South  caro- 
tion  of  the  State.  Tillman  aroused  the  small 
farmers  of  the  Alliances  against  the  former  high-toned 
aristocratic  slaveholders,  like  the  Butlers  and  the  Hamp- 
tons and  other  families,  whose  exclusive  privilege  it  had 
been  to  control  the  politics  of  the  State  since  the  Revo- 
lution.    Tillman  organized  the  "wool  hats'*  (though  he 


114  Political  Parties  and  Party  Problems 

despised  the  woolly  heads)  against  the  *  *  silk  hats  *  *  and  the 
"kid  gloves."  The  Democratic  party  in  South  Carolina 
was  committed,  essentially,  to  Populist  policies.  The 
Democratic  organization  in  other  Southern  States,  as  a 
means  of  retaining  power  and  breaking  the  rising  tide  of 
Populism,  was  ready  to  follow  in  the  same  direction. 

The  Democratic  Populists  in  the  South  and  the  Repub- 
lican Populists  in  the  Northwest  claimed  that  they  were 
Populism  and  ^^^  ^^^^  Jcffcrsonian  Democrats  and  Lincoln 
jeffersonian  Republicans,  the  true  popular  party  as  against 
Democracy,  aristocratic  and  special  privileges;  that  they 
wished  to  get  back  to  Jeffersonian  simplicity,  honesty, 
and  economy  in  government,  to  secure  a  fair  field  for  all ; 
to  resist  commercialism,  to  oppose  banks,  "Wall  Street," 
and  the  "money  power,"  and  the  general  corruption  and 
cowardice  of  the  old  parties.  The  Populists  felt  that  it 
was  their  mission  to  speak  for  the  rank  and  file  of  the 
common  people  in  all  parties,  to  stand  for  the  revival  of 
a  New  Democracy.  Formerly  the  congressional  caucus 
nominated  candidates  and  determined  upon  party  pol- 
icies. The  people  had  overthrown  this  under  Jackson's 
leadership  and  had  substituted  the  convention  system  in 
which  the  people  would  be  represented.  But  now  party 
conventions  and  organizations  were,  to  the  Populist  mind, 
mere  machines  for  winning  elections  and  keeping  control 
PopuUst  ^f  ^^^  offices.     They  were   unscrupulous  oli- 

Distrust  of  garchies,  controlled  by  the  rich.  A  few  astute 
Machines.  ^^^  wealthy  managers  and  magnates,  called 
They  had  "busincss  men,"  controlling  the  party  mana- 
Representthe  g^rs  as  their  hcnchmcn,  set  things  up  in  pri- 
Peopie.  yate  conferences,  while  the  masses  were  being 

fooled  and  manipulated  like  voting  herds.  Then  the 
business  magnates,  who  dictated  the  nomination  of  the 
candidates  and  furnished  the  "sinews  of  war"  for  the  cam- 
paign, were,  of  course,  to  conduct  the  government ;  and, 
equally  of  course,  the  laws  were  to  be  made  and  admin- 


Recent  Party  History  115 

istered  in  such  a  way  as  to  take  good  care  of  these  man- 
agers' business  interests.  It  was  felt  that  if  any  President 
or  Senator  or  Congressman,  who  began  to  urge  honestly 
and  effectively  that  the  great  mine-owners,  or  railroads,  or 
trust  combinations, — the  moneyed  forces  that  controlled 
the  money,  land,  and  transportation  of  the  people, — 
should  be  actually  brought  face  to  face  with  the  enforce- 
ment of  just  and  equal  laws,  then  some  silent  but  power- 
ful influence  within  the  parties  would  retire  such  public 
servants  to  private  life. 

Such  were  the  impressions  in  Populists'  minds  and  in 
the  minds  of  many  others  to  whom  Populists  appealed. 

"Like  Socialism  in  Europe,  Populism  in  America  demanded 
a  larger  State  agency  and  activity  in  solving  the  industrial 
problems  for  the  common  benefit  of  all.  '  We,  the  people,  in 
the  control  of  monopolies  now  used  for  private  ends,  through 
State  control  will  use  these  agencies  for  the  good  of  all.*  It 
was  socialism,  not  paternalism.  Let  the  Government  do  for 
all  what  natural  monopolies,  evading  all  law  and  control,  were 
doing  for  only  a  few.  It  was  a  movement  whose  roots  went 
deep  in  the  past,  and  it  arose  from  grievances  that  were  real. '  *  * 

The  Populists  felt  that  in  the  great  concentration  of 
wealth  and  the  consequent  impoverishment  and  depen- 
dence of  debtors  and  laborers,  calamity  had  PopuUstsand 
come  upon  the  country,  and  their  speakers  Hard  Times, 
were  very  generally  derided  as  "calamity  howlers."  In 
their  first  national  platform,  adopted  at  Omaha,  July  2, 
1892,  the  Populists  recited  the  ills  of  the  country  as 
follows : 

"The  conditions  which  surround  us  best  justify  our  co- 
operation. We  meet  in  the  midst  of  a  nation  brought  to  the 
verge  of  moral,  political,  and  material  ruin.  Cor-  pirst  PopuUst 
ruption  dominates  the  ballot-box,  the  legislatures,  Platform. 
Congress,  and  even  touches  the  ermine  of  the  Bench.     The 

'Frederick  E.  Haynes,  Quarterly  Journal  of  Economics,  "The  New 
Sectionalism,"  vol.  x.,  p.  269.  See  also  Frank  L.  McVey,  Economic  Studies., 
vol.  i. 


ii6  Political  Parties  and  Party  Problems 

people  are  demoralized.  The  newspapers  are  largely  sub- 
sidized or  muzzled;  public  opinion  silenced,  business  pros- 
trated, our  homes  covered  with  mortgages,  labor  impoverished, 
and  the  land  concentrating  in  the  hands  of  capitalists.  The 
fruits  of  the  toil  of  millions  are  boldly  stolen  to  build  up 
colossal  fortunes  for  a  few  unprecedented  in  the  history  of 
mankind;  and  the  possessors  of  these  despise  the  republic 
and  endanger  liberty.  From  the  same  prolific  womb  of  gov- 
ernmental injustice  we  breed  the  two  great  classes  of  tramps 
and  millionaires. ' ' 

They  represented  the  following  ideas : 

Populist  I-  On  money  and  taxation: 

Demands.  a.  The  free  and  unlimited  coinage  of  silver  and 

gold  at  the  legal  ratio  of  i6  to  i. 

b.  That  Government  paper  money  should  take  the  place  of 
bank-notes,  and  that  the  amount  of  this  circulating  medium  be 
increased  to  $50.00  per  capita. 

c.  That  the  money  of  the  country  be  kept  as  much  as  pos- 
sible in  the  hands  of  the  people  and  hence  all  State  and 
National  revenue  be  limited  to  necessary  expenses  of  Govern- 
ment economically  administered. 

d.  Opposition  to  the  issue  of  bonds. 

e.  That  postal  savings-banks  be  established  by  the  Govern- 
ment for  the  safe  deposit  of  the  earnings  of  the  people  and  to 
facilitate  exchange. 

f.  A  graduated  income  tax,  to  force  the  holders  of  great 
wealth  to  contribute  according  to  their  ability  to  the  needs  of 
the  Government. 

2.  On  Transportation: 

Transportation  being  a  means  of  exchange  and  a  public 
necessity,  the  Government  should  own  and  operate  the  rail- 
roads in  the  interest  of  the  people. 

The  telegraph  and  the  telephone,  being  a  necessity  for  the 
transmission  of  news,  should  be  owned  and  operated  in  the  in- 
terest of  the  people. 

3.  Land: 


Recent  Party  History  iijr 

All  lands  held  by  railroads  or  other  corporations  in  excess 
of  their  actual  needs,  and  all  lands  owned  by  aliens  should  be 
reclaimed  by  the  Government  and  held  open  for  settlement. 

They  recommended  the  initiative  and  the  referendum. 

The  party  nominated  James  B.  Weaver  of  Iowa  for 
President,  and  James  T.  Field  of  Virginia  for  PopuUst 
Vice-President,  and  they  cast  about  1,040,000  candidates, 
votes.  In  five  Western  States  at  this  election  (Colo- 
rado, Idaho,  Kansas,  North  Dakota,  and  Wyoming)  the 
Democrats  nominated  no  electors.  This  was  partly  be- 
cause the  Democratic  voters  had  been  absorbed  by  the 
Populists  and  partly  because  the  Democratic  Democrats  in 
managers  regarded  it  as  the  most  effective  the  West 
scheme  to  defeat  the  Republican  electors  in  PopuUst 
those  States.  If  neither  party  should  secure  a  Nominees, 
majority  in  the  Electoral  College  and  the  election  should 
devolve  upon  the  House,  the  Democrats,  controlling  a 
majority  of  the  State  delegations,  would  elect  their  can- 
didate. The  chief  result  of  this  course  on  the  part  of 
the  Democratic  managers,  however,  was  to  commit  their 
voters  to  Populist  policies  and  alliances.  The  Populists 
now  came  to  be  either  the  first  or  the  second  party  west 
of  the  Mississippi  and  south  of  the  Ohio.  They  had 
carried  a  group  of  States,  elected  Representatives  and 
Senators,  and  they  took  rank  as  the  strongest  third  party 
since  the  Civil  War. 

Another  factor  must  be  taken  account  of  in  seeking  the 
causes  for  the  party  changes  of  1896.  This  The  "Silver 
is   the  Silver  party.     This  had  never  been  a  Party." 

party  in  the  American  sense ;  that  is,  they  had  never  yet 
nominated  candidates  for  President  and  Vice-President. 
They  were  a  body  of  men  from  all  parties  organized  into  a 
Bimetallic  League,  who  were  ready  to  make  the  silver 
issue  paramount  in  the  elections,  and  to  stand  together  in 
abandoning  their  parties  and  joining  any  other  that  gave 


ii8  Political  Parties  and  Party  Problems 

promise  of  a  restoration  of  silver  to  the  coinage.  They 
believed  not  only  in  international,  but  in  national  bimetal- 
lism;  that  is,  in  the  coinage  of  all  the  gold 
and  silver  offered  at  the  mints  at  the  historic 
ratio  of  i6  to  i.  International  bimetallism  was  sup- 
ported by  high  scientific  opinion,  and  the  American  bi- 
metallists  believed  that  if  America  started  on  that  course 
alone  she  could  do  so  without  injury,  or  even  with  profit, 
and  that  other  nations  would  follow.  These  Silver  men 
held  that  the  demonetization  of  silver  in  1873  was  a  seri- 
ous mistake;  to  them  it  was  "the  crime  of  '73>" — an  act 
that  had  been  passed  surreptitiously  and  corruptly  at  the 
behest  of  the  creditor  classes,  without  any  public  demand 
or  without  exciting  public  notice;  the  result  had  been 
an  appreciation  in  gold  or  a  fall  of  prices  and  great  hard- 
ship to  the  producing  classes.  The  bimetallists  based 
their  demand  for  the  free  coinage  of  silver  as  well  as  of 
gold  upon  an  alleged  insufficiency  of  metallic  money  for 
the  increasing  necessities  of  a  growing  population  and  an 
expanding  commerce.  They  held  that  the  value  of 
money  is  measured  by  the  other  things  for  which  it  ex- 
changes ;  that  to  maintain  a  stable  dollar  is  to  maintain  a 
The  Silver  general  level  of  prices,  as  nearly  as  possible ;  a 
Contention,  continued  fall  of  prices  indicates  a  growing 
scarcity  of  money  (relative  to  business),  and  is  productive 
of  disaster,  the  loss  of  property  under  the  burden  of  debt, 
and  the  discouragement  of  enterprise.  They  asserted 
that  from  1873  to  1896  the  general  level  of  prices  fell 
throughout  the  gold-using  world  about  fifty  per  cent. ; 
that  is,  the  value  of  the  gold  dollar  had  increased  one 
hundred  per  cent,  in  a  quarter  of  a  century ;  this  added 
value  of  gold  was  partly  due  to  the  increased  demand 
upon  it  for  money  uses,  and  if  silver  bullion  had  fallen  in 
price  during  this  time,  that  was  because  it  could  not  be 
coined  into  money.  The  monetary  demand  formerly 
placed  on  silver  was  transferred  to  gold,  and  the  bimetal- 


Recent  Party  History  119 

lists  contended  that  the  fall  in  prices,  or  the  rise  of  gold, 
could  be  best  stopped  by  an  increase  of  metallic  money, 
and  that  this  increase  could  be  furnished  by  opening  the 
mints  again  to  the  coinage  of  both  silver  and  gold.  While 
the  same  result  would  be  produced  by  a  vast  increase  of 
the  supply  of  gold  (the  one  metal  retaining  the  privilege 
of  unlimited  coinage),  yet  this  was  an  event  not  to  be 
expected,  and  rising  prices  and  prosperity  could  best  be 
restored  by  restoring  silver  to  coinage.  The  Silver  men 
professed  to  hold  this  view  not  because  they  were  "friends 
of  silver,"  or  wished  to  "do  something  for  silver,"  but 
because  they  believed  in  the  quantitative  theory  of  money, 
— the  more  money  the  less  a  given  amount  will  bring 
in  products,  and  vice  versa ;  that  the  law  of  supply  and 
demand  operates  on  all  commodities,  money  included; 
and  if  both  gold  and  silver  might  be  brought  to  the  mints 
and  be  coined,  an  increase  in  the  supply  of  either  would 
increase  the  joint  quantity  and  would,  therefore,  pre- 
vent the  downward  tendency  in  prices.  Such  is  a  brief, 
though  necessarily  inadequate,  statement  of  the  bimetallic 
contention.*  It  will  be  seen  that  upon  the  money  ques- 
tion there  was  an  obvious  basis  of  union  between  the 
Populists  and  the  Silver  men. 

For  twenty  years  prior  to  1896,  the  discussion  over 
bimetallism  and  silver  had  divided  parties  and  the  coun- 
try. The  bimetallists  were  supported  by  the  jhe  struggle 
opinion  of  many  students  of  finance,  by  the  to  Restore 
material  interests  of  the  silver-mining  States,  ^  ^coinage! 
by  the  Greenback  and  Populist  demand  for  1878-1896. 
more  money,  by  the  views  of  certain  labor  leaders  and 
organizations,  and  by  Farmers'  Alliances  and  debtors 
struggling  to  pay  mortgages  on  the  farms.  While  they 
were  not  able  to  secure  from  Congress  the  repeal  of  the 
Act  of  1873  ^J^d  the  consequent  full  restoration  of  silver 
to  the  mints,  they  were  able  to  force  a  compromise  from 

*  See  C.  A.  Towne,  American  Review  of  Reviews^  Sept.,  1900. 


h 


I20  Political  Parties  and  Party  Problems 

the  gold  standard  or  "Sound  Money  "  party.  On  Feb- 
ruary 28,  1878,  the  Bland-Allison  Act  was  passed  over 
The  Bland-  ^^^  ^^^°  °^  President  Hayes.  A  bill  providing 
AUisonAct,  for  the  free  and  unlimited  coinage  of  silver 
'^'^**  had  passed    the    House    in    November,    1877, 

in  answer  to  a  strong  public  demand.  When  this  Bland 
free-coinage  act  came  up  to  the  Senate  it  was  amended 
there,  as  a  means  of  preventing  its  passage,  on  a  report 
offered  to  the  Senate  by  Senator  Allison  of  Iowa, 
from  the  Finance  Committee  of  the  Senate,  by  a  provision 
that  the  Government  should  purchase  monthly  from 
$2,000,000  to  $4,000,000  worth  of  silver  bullion  for  coinage 
into  dollars.  At  this  time  the  bullion  in  the  silver  dollar 
was  worth  about  ninety-two  cents.  Holders  of  the  silver 
coin  were  authorized  to  deposit  it  with  the  United  States 
Treasurer  and  to  receive  therefor  certificates  of  deposit 
The  Matthews  ^^^^n  as  silver  certificates.  In  the  same  year 
Resolution,  the  Celebrated  Matthews  Resolution  was  passed 
*  ^^'  by  Congress,  declaring  that  all  bonds  of  the 

United  States  **are  payable  in  silver  dollars  of  41 2 J- 
grains  and  that  to  restore  such  dollars  as  a  full  legal 
tender  for  that  purpose  is  not  a  violation  of  public  faith 
or  the  rights  of  creditors." 

The  Bland- Allison  Act  was  in  operation  from  1878  to 
1890,  during  which  time  $2,000,000  in  silver  was  coined 
each  month,  the  minimum  amount  authorized  by  law. 
This  was  not  satisfactory  to  the  free-coinage  sentiment, 
and  in  1890  the  silver  men  secured  the  passage  of  another 
free-coinage  act  by  the  Senate,  as  a  substitute  for  an  act 
from  the  House  increasing  silver  purchases.  In  conference 
committee  a   compromise  was  agreed  to  which 

The  Sherman  ,  ^      r-  i        r-  r-i 

Silver  Pur-      was  reported  to  the  Senate  by  Senator  Sherman 

chase  Act,  ^f  ohio.  This  was  the  so  called  Sherman  Act  of 
1899. 

July  14, 1890,  which  stopped  the  coinage  of  silver 

dollars  as  provided  for  in  the  Bland- Allison  Act,andprovided 

for  the  purchase  of  silver  bullion  to  the  amount  of  4,500,000 


Recent  Party  History  121 

ounces  each  month.  Against  this  bullion,  Treasury  notes 
were  to  be  issued,  redeemable  in  gold  or  silver  coin 
at  the  option  of  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury.  These 
notes  were  made  a  legal  tender  in  payment  of  all  debts, 
public  and  private,  and  receivable  for  all  customs,  taxes, 
and  all  public  dues.  It  was  also  declared  in  this  act  to  be 
"the  established  policy  of  the  United  States  to  maintain 
the  two  metals  on  a  parity  with  each  other  ..  Maintaining 
upon  the  present  legal  ratio,  or  such  ratio  as  the  Parity." 
may  be  provided  by  law."  This  language  was  inter- 
preted by  the  Treasury  Department,  both  under  Repub- 
lican and  Democratic  administrations,  as  guaranteeing 
gold  payments,  if  desired  by  the  holder  of  Government 
paper,  and  the  new  Treasury  notes  were  treated  as  gold 
obligations.  That  is,  the  Treasury  refused  to  exercise  its 
option  to  pay  silver,  and  this  displeased  the  Silver  men. 
Under  the  Sherman  Act  $i55,ocx),ooo  of  Treasury  notes 
were  issued  against  silver  bullion. 

Thus,  by  the  Bland-Allison  Act  of  1878  and  the  Sher- 
man Act  of  1890  the  Silver  party  had  forced  into  circula- 
tion about  $450,000,000  of  silver  money.  The  ^^^^^  ^^ 
currency  had  been  expanded,  but  by  no  means  silver  issues, 
as  much  as  the  Silver  party  and  the  paper  infla-  '878-1893. 
tionists  desired.  The  question  now  was,  in  1893,  whether 
these  silver  notes  were  to  be  discontinued  and  the  country 
brought  definitely  to  the  gold  standard,  or  whether  the 
policy  of  still  further  expanding  the  currency  by  free 
silver  should  obtain.  For  thirty  years  neither  The  Financial 
party  to  the  financial  controversy  was  able  to    struggle  had 

r  .  ^1  ,  t  1,1-  Resulted  in  a 

have  its  way.  The  gold-standard  policy,  pro-  series  of 
moted   chiefly    by   the   banking   and  creditor   Comproinises 

^         -^  ^  ,  J      1         between  Con- 

classes,  the  money-lending   sections,  and  the  meting 

conservative  business  interests  of  the  country  interests, 
standing  for  strict  integrity  in  public  and  private  con- 
tracts, opposed  further  expanding  of  the  currency  by  sil- 
ver and  paper  issues.     They  held  that  the  country  had 


122  Political  Parties  and  Party  Problems 

absorbed  all  the  silver  money  it  could  hold ;  that  to  pursue 
silver  coinage  or  to  increase  it  would  inevitably  bring  the 
Treasury  to  the  silver  standard  and  throw  the  country 
into  financial  confusion.  This  would  mean  national  re- 
pudiation and  dishonor.  With  them  it  was  not  a  ques- 
tion of  more  money,  but  of  "sound  money  "  ;  whatever 
money  we  had  should  be  "as  good  as  gold,"  and,  at  all 
hazards,  the  public  credit  should  be  maintained  at  the 
highest  standard;  that  is,  all  Government  obligations 
should  be  exchangeable  for  gold,  the  money  of  the  high- 
class  nations  of  the  world.  The  expanding  or  inflation 
policy,  promoted  chiefly  by  the  debtor  and  poorer  classes 
and  by  the  agricultural  and  less  wealthy  sections,  sought 
to  maintain  a  steady  relation  between  money  and  pro- 
ducts ;  and  they  held  that  in  its  expansive  qualities  the 
currency  should  keep  pace  with  population  and  trade; 
and  whether  there  should  be  more  or  less  of  money  issued 
was  a  Government  question,  not  a  banking  question, — 
that  is,  it  was  a  question  of  public  policy  to  be  determined 
by  the  political  agencies  and  officials  of  the  people  and 
not  by  the  officials  and  interests  of  private  financial  cor- 
porations. The  financial  controversy  was,  then,  in  a 
sense,  a  struggle  between  classes  to  determine  the  control 
and  regulation  of  the  volume  of  money,  with  the  con- 
tending forces  well  represented  in  both  the  parties.  The 
campaign  of  1896  was  an  attempt  to  divide  the  voters  on 
this  line  of  cleavage.  The  silver  question  was  pushed  to 
the  front  for  party  purposes,  but  to  the  social  reformer 
the  conflict  had  a  larger  aspect :  It  was  a  struggle  for  the 
control  of  the  medium  of  exchange,  the  means  of  ex- 
change, and  land  monopolies  as  great  agencies  in  exchange 
and  in  production. 

In  1892,  the  constituencies  of  both  parties  were  divided 
on  the  financial  controversy.  The  campaign  of  that  year 
was  fought  on  other  lines, — chiefly  on  the  line  of  the 
tariff.     The  Populists  alone  were  outspoken  and  aggres- 


Recent  Party  History  123 

sive  on  the  money  question.  Both  of  the  old  parties 
adopted  evasive,  not  to  say  two-faced,  resolutions  on 
the  financial  issue.  The  Republicans  asserted  that  the 
"American  people,  from  tradition  and  interest,  favor 
bimetallism,  and  the  Republican  party  demands  the  use 
of  both  gold  and  silver  as  standard  money."  This  was 
a  bid  for  the  Silver  vote.  Then  followed,  in 
deference  to  the  Gold  men, — "with  such  re-  kndthe 

strictions  and  under  such  provisions,  to  be  "Parity," 
determined  by  legislation,  as  will  secure  the 
maintenance  of  the  parity  of  values  of  the  two  metals,  so 
that  the  purchasing  and  debt-paying  power  of  the  dollar, 
whether  of  silver,  gold,  or  paper,  shall  be  at  all  times 
equal."* 

The  Democrats  asserted : 

*  *  We  hold  to  the  use  of  both  gold  and  silver  as  the  standard 
money  of  the  country,  and  to  the  coinage  of  both  gold  and 
silver  without  discriminating  against  either  metal  or  charge  for 
mintage." 

This  part  of  the  artful  and  dodging  platform  was  meant 
for  use  among  Silver  men  and  farmers  in  the  West.  Then 
followed : 

**  but  the  dollar  unit  of  coinage  of  both  metals  must  be  of  equal 
intrinsic  and  exchangeable  value,  or  be  adjusted  through  in- 
ternational agreement  or  by  such  safeguards  of  legislation  as 
shall  insure  the  maintenance  of  the  parity  of  the  two  metals 
and  the  equal  power  of  every  dollar  at  all  times  in  the  markets 
and  in  the  payment  of  debts. '  * 

This  was  to  justify  those  who  wished  to  maintain  the 
gold  standard. 

The  Populists  had  the  advantage  of  unity  of  purpose 
and  of  knowing  what  they  believed.  The  money  ques- 
tion, in  its  many  aspects,  they  looked  upon  as  one  of  the 

*  Republican  Platform,  1892. 


124  Political  Parties  and  Party  Problems 

greatest  in  the  history  of  civilization,  as  one  most  vitally 
affecting  social  happiness,  and  they  were  striving  hard  in 
the  South  and  West  to  win  voters  of  both  parties  to  their 
views. 

The  Democratic  party,  in  order  to  heal  or  to  avoid 
divisions,  pushed  the  tariff  question  to  the  front  in  the 
campaign  of  1892,  and  Mr.  Cleveland  was  elected  chiefly 
upon  that  issue.  Although  elected  on  the  issue  of  re- 
ducing tariff  taxation,  on  which  his  party  was  fairly  well 
united,  early  after  his  inauguration  he  convened  Con- 
gress into  extraordinary  session  for  purposes  of  financial 
legislation,  on  which  his  party  was  hopelessly  divided. 
His  policy  was  to  prevent  further  silver  coinage,  to  stop 
expanding  the  currency,  and  to  borrow  whatever  gold 
was  necessary  to  make  gold  payments  on  all  forms  of 
Government  paper.  To  maintain  the  gold  standard  he 
increased  the  bonded  debt  by  $262,000,000,  refused  to 
use  silver  in  Government  payments,  vetoed  a  measure  for 
further  silver  coinage ;  and  used  the  patronage  of  his  ad- 
ministration to  secure  congressional  votes  for  the  repeal 
of  the  Sherman  Silver  Purchase  Act  without  substituting 
another  for  financial  relief.  All  these  acts  were  directly 
hostile  to  and  antagonized  by  the  Silver  and  Populist 
sentiment  within  the  Democratic  party.  The  party  was 
disrupted,  and  in  the  West  and  South  the  great  bulk  of 
it  refused  to  follow  Mr.  Cleveland's  leadership.  In  the 
elections  of  1894  the  Democrats  were  defeated  by  over- 
whelming majorities.  Legislative  and  congressional  dis- 
tricts in  the  West  that  had  never  been  known  to  elect 
Republicans  did  so  that  year.  The  Republicans  carried 
the  House  of  Representatives  by  more  than  two  thirds 
majority.  The  Populist  vote  increased  to  nearly  two 
million.  Though  members  of  the  Administration  and 
other  Democrats  in  office,  or  in  quest  of  patronage, 
abandoned  their  previous  advocacy  of  free  silver  coinage, 
other  Democrats,  in  Congress  and  out,  like  Altgeld  of 


Recent  Party  History  125 

Illinois,  Bland  of  Missouri,  Blackburn  of  Kentucky, 
Bryan  of  Nebraska,  and  Turpie  of  Indiana,  opposed  the 
Administration  and  set  about  to  control  the  organization 
of  the  Democratic  party  and  the  next  National  Conven- 
tion. They  were  aided  in  this  by  silver  clubs,  the  Bi- 
metallic League,  by  Coins  Financial  School  and  other 
popular  pamphlets  on  the  money  question,  and  by  gen- 
eral Democratic  dissatisfaction.  The  growth  of  labor 
organizations,  the  spread  of  socialistic  agitation,  the  op- 
pression of  the  corporations,  the  great  railroad  strikes  of 
1894,  and  the  employment  of  the  soldiery  by  Mr.  Cleve- 
land to  repress  the  strikers,  the  hard  times  and  calamities 
of  other  strikes  and  labor  troubles,  and,  above  all,  the 
unprecedented  hardship  of  the  severe  financial  panic  of 
1893,  for  which  Mr.  Cleveland's  administration  was  un- 
justly held  responsible,  all  tended  in  the  same  direction, 
— toward  discontent  and  revolt. 

It  was  hardly  expected  that  Mr.  Cleveland  would  be 
beaten  and  repudiated  within  the  convention  of  his  own 
party  in  1896.  The  managers  of  the  People's  party 
fully  expected  that  both  the  old  parties  would  be  under 
the  control  of  the  "trusts  and  the  gold  bugs,"  and  they 
therefore  placed  their  convention  after  the  conventions 
of  both  the  old  parties,  in  the  expectation  of  gathering 
into  the  Populist  ranks  all  the  bolting  Silver  and  anti- 
monopolist  Republicans  and  Democrats  and  thus  increas- 
ing its  two  million  votes  to  the  five  and  a  half  millions 
necessary  to  elect.  In  1872,  the  Liberal  Republicans 
who  represented  a  bolt  against  their  party  Administra- 
tion, held  an  early  convention,  and  the  Democratic  Con- 
vention which  followed  had  to  face  the  alternative  of  a 
hopeless  contest  or  an  endorsement  of  the  candidates  and 
platform  of  the  Liberal  Republicans.  The  Democrats 
accepted  the  course  that  the  Independent  Republicans 
had  marked  out  for  them.  But  in  1896  the  course  of 
events  took  a  different  turn.     The  Populists  were  left  to 


126  Political  Parties  and  Party  Problems 

endorse  the  Democrats  or  to  run  a  second  candidate  rep- 
resenting, essentially,  the  same  spirit  and  purpose.  The 
Republican  Convention  was  first  to  meet,  and  its  leaders 
'were  still  expecting  to  make  the  tariff  the  dominant  issue 
in  the  campaign.  When  the  convention  refused  to  accept 
a  resolution  favoring  the  use  of  both  gold  and  silver  as 
equal  standard  money  and  pledging  its  power  to  secure 
free  and  unrestricted  coinage  of  both  metals  at  the  ratio 
of  1 6  to  I,  Senator  Teller  of  Colorado  led  a  Silver  revolt. 
He  was  followed  by  a  contingent  representing  Silver  Re- 
publicans from  the  West  who  were  ready  to  unite  with 
the  party  that  would  give  unequivocal  support  and  the 
best  promise  of  success  to  their  cause.  These  represented 
one  wing  of  the  new  combination  that  was  forming. 

In  the  struggle  for  the  control  of  the  Democratic  Con- 
vention, the  Silver  Democrats  and  those  who  were 
opposing  the  gold-standard  policy  of  Mr.  Cleveland  con- 
trolled the  State  conventions  in  the  important  middle 
States  of  Kentucky,  Illinois,  Indiana,  and  Ohio,  and  the 
Democratic  Convention  met  with  its  Silver  wing  in  con- 
trol of  more  than  two  thirds  of  the  delegates,  much  to  the 
surprise  and  consternation  of  the  Eastern  section  of  the 
party.  Thirty  Democratic  State  conventions  had  de- 
clared for  free  silver  coinage.  The  Democrats  felt  that 
the  time  for  "straddling  "  platforms  on  the  money  ques- 
tion had  passed.  The  Democratic  Convention  declared 
the  money  question  to  be  paramount  to  all  others ;  that 
**gold  and  silver  together  were  the  money  of  the  Constitu- 
tion; that  the  demonetizing  act  of  1873  was  without  the 
approval  of  the  American  people ;  that  it  had  resulted  in 
an  appreciation  of  gold  or  a  fall  of  prices ;  that  gold  mono- 
metallism, a  British  policy,  had  locked  fast  the  prosperity 
of  an  industrial  people  in  the  paralysis  of  hard  times," 
and  they  demanded  "the  free  and  unlimited  coinage  of 
both  gold  and  silver  at  the  present  legal  ratio  of  sixteen  to 
one,  without  waiting  for  the  aid  or  consent  of  any  other 


Recent  Party  History  127 

nation,  and  that  silver,  equally  with  gold,  shall  be  a  full 
legal  tender  for  all  debts,  public  and  private."  They 
asserted  that  Congress  alone  had  power  to  issue  money 
and  that  banking  corporations  should  be  restrained  from 
doing  so ;  all  paper  money  should  be  issued  by  the  Gov- 
ernment. They  denounced  the  income-tax  decision  of 
the  Supreme  Court  as  contrary  to  the  "uniform  decisions 
of  that  body  for  one  hundred  years, ' '  and  they  declared 
that  it  was 

*  *  the  duty  of  Congress  to  use  all  the  constitutional  power  which 
remains  after  that  decision,  or  which  may  come  from  its  rever- 
sal by  the  court  as  it  may  hereafter  be  constituted,  so  that  the 
burdens  of  taxation  may  be  equally  and  impartially  laid,  to 
the  end  that  wealth  may  bear  its  due  proportion  of  the  ex- 
penses of  the  Government." 

They  denounced 

"  arbitrary  interference  by  Federal  authorities  in  local  affairs,* 
as  a  violation  of  the  Constitution  and  a  crime  against  free  in- 
stitutions, and  we  especially  object  to  government  by  injunc- 
tion as  a  new  and  highly  dangerous  form  of  oppression  by 
which  Federal  judges,  in  contempt  of  the  laws  of  the  States 
and  rights  of  citizens,  become  at  once  legislators,  judges,  and 
executioners ' ' ; 

and  the  platform  demanded  trial  by  jury  in  certain  cases 
of  contempt. 

These  are  the  main  features  of  the  celebrated  "Chicago 
Platform  of  1896."  On  this  platform  the  party  nomi- 
nated Mr.  William  J.  Bryan  of  Nebraska  for  President, 
— a  man  who  believed  thoroughly  in  the  righteousness  of 
his  cause  and  who  represented  fully  the  spirit  and  purpose 
of  the  convention. 

It  was  expected  that  the  Populists  would  ratify  and 

*  Referring  to  the  Chicago  strike  troubles  of  1894. 


128  Political  Parties  and  Party  Problems 

support  this  platform  and  nomination.  But  there  were 
**Middle-of-the-Road "  Populists  who  refused  to  co- 
operate. They  wished  to  "keep  in  the  middle  of  the 
road,"  without  fusion  or  alliance  with  any  other  party, 
and  they  would  maintain  their  own  organization,  have  a 
separate,  independent  platform  and  ticket.  The  Populist 
Convention,  meeting  a  few  weeks  after  the  Democratic 
Convention  had  adjourned,  endorsed  Mr.  Bryan's  nomi- 
nation, but  the  "  Middle-of-the-Roaders  "  were  strong 
enough  to  prevent  the  convention  from  accepting  Mr. 
Sewall,  the  candidate  of  the  Democrats  for  Vice-Presi- 
dent, and  Mr.  Thomas  Watson  of  Georgia  was  named 
instead.     This  complicated  the  situation. 

The  combination  against  the  gold  standard  and  the 
* 'money  power  " — of  Silver  Republicans,  Populists,  and 
Democrats — was  still  further  prevented  by  a  bolt  from 
the  Democrats.  The  gold  wing  of  the  Democracy, 
the  supporters  of  Mr.  Cleveland's  policy,  who  had  been 
defeated  in  the  regular  Democratic  Convention,  organized 
a  movement  in  opposition  to  Mr.  Bryan.  Thousands  of 
conservative  old-school  Democrats,  who  looked  upon  the 
Chicago  platform  as  "revolutionary  "  ;  who  deplored  what 
seemed  to  them  a  menacing  attack  on  the  Supreme  Court ; 
who  were  fearful  of  the  socialistic  tendencies  of  their 
party ;  who  were  opposed  to  further  enlargement  of  gov- 
ernmental activities  in  the  control  of  transportation  and 
commercial  monopolies,  united  in  this  movement.  A 
convention  was  held  under  the  name  of  the  "National 
Democratic  Party,"  and  John  M.  Palmer  of  Illinois  was 
nominated  for  President  and  Simon  B.  Buckner  of 
Kentucky  for  Vice-President,  It  declared  for  the  gold 
standard  and  denounced  the  regular  Democrats  as  Popu- 
lists. As  a  "National  Democratic  Party  "  it  was  a  mere 
temporary  shift,  or  pretence,  and  a  separate  party  move- 
ment was  resorted  to  merely  as  the  means  best  calculated 
to  induce  Democrats  to  withhold  their  votes  from  Mr. 


Recent  Party  History  129 

Bryan.  However,  the  movement  was  shown  to  have 
represented  the  sentiments  of  more  than  one  hundred 
thousand  Democratic  voters  throughout  the  country 
who  were  unwilling  to  vote  for  either  of  the  old  parties, 
though  the  majority  of  the  Gold  Democrats  voted  directly 
for  the  Republican  candidate.  The  Silver  Republicans 
who,  in  control  of  the  Silver  party,  nominated  Mr. 
Bryan,  are  to  be  looked  upon  in  the  same  light,  as  main- 
taining the  form  of  a  third  party  as  the  best  manoeuvre 
for  securing  the  defeat  of  the  regular  Republican  can- 
didate, Mr.  McKinley.  They  soon  afterwards  merged 
formally  into  the  Democratic  party.  The  National 
Democrats  and  the  Silver  Republicans  were  third-party 
stalking-horses,  though  the  Silver  Republicans  directly 
nominated  the  candidate  that  they  favored. 

The  Gold  Democrats  of  1896  were  conservatives.  They 
favored  the  old  ways,  in  that  they  opposed  enlarging  the 
scope  of  government.  Both  the  Cleveland  and  the 
Bryan  elements  in  the  Democratic  party  claimed  to 
be  Jeffersonian,  and  the  lineal  inheritors  of  Jacksonian 
Democracy.  The  gold  wing  were  regarded  by  their  op- 
ponents as  standing  for  the  wealthy,  the  aristocratic,  and 
privileged  classes  of  the  country,  and  it  was  against  these 
that  Jefferson  and  Jackson  contended.  To  the  Bryan 
Democracy  the  struggle  was  against  plutocracy,  against 
the  subtle  control  and  corruptions  of  wealth.  To  the 
Cleveland  Democracy  it  was  a  struggle  against  socialism, 
disorder,  dishonesty,  and  anarchy.  The  radical,  progres- 
sive, social  democracy  represented  by  Mr.  Bryan  had  now 
come  to  look  upon  government  not  merely  as  a  means 
of  repression,  as  it  was  regarded  in  Jefferson's  day  (who 
therefore  sought  to  prevent  the  enlargement  of  govern- 
mental powers),  but  as  an  agency  of  a  democratic  state 
for  the  promotion  of  the  people's  interests.  With  this 
new  and  larger,  if  not  truer,  democratic  tendency  in  the 
party  it  drew  to  its  support  in  1896  many  who  had  never 


I30  Political  Parties  and  Party  Problems 

supported  it  before, — those  who  felt  that  the  greatest 
danger  to  the  nation  was  in  the  domination  of  the 
Government  by  a  commercial  and  corrupt  plutocracy. 
On  the  other  hand,  the  Democratic  party  lost  the  sup- 
port of  its  millionaires  and  moneyed  men,  and  of  many 
conservative  citizens,  many  of  its  best  and  most  substantial 
supporters,  who  felt  that  menacing  danger  to  the  country 
was  in  the  socialistic  spirit,  and  that  it  would  be  safer 
to  trust  control  of  a  more  conservative  party  which 
would  be  more  disposed  to  guard  the  interests  of  prop- 
erty and  business.  The  business  interests  of  the  country 
were  aroused  against  the  new  democracy. 

The  party  situation  has  not  materially  changed  since 
1896.  The  same  forces  are  in  control  of  the  two  parties. 
The  Spanish  War  and  our  colonial  expansion  brought 
into  paramount  importance  a  new  issue  in  1900, — whether 
the  new  colonial  policy  brought  on  by  the  war  should  be 
maintained.  On  that  issue  the  Democrats  are  conserva- 
tive and  the  Republicans  stand  for  a  departure, — in  the 
control,  outside  of  the  Constitution,  of  subject  peoples 
across  seas,  in  the  interest  of  expansion  and  commerce. 
The  Democratic  party  is  fairly  well  united  in  opposition 
to  our  foreign  colonial  policy,  especially  in  the  Philip- 
pines. But  on  the  domestic  problems  touching  monopo- 
lies of  land,  money,  and  transportation  the  struggle  and 
division  within  the  Democratic  party  still  continue.  The 
conservatives,  or  *  *  reorganizers, "  represented  by  able  and 
astute  leaders  and  men  of  large  affairs,  capable  managers 
of  great  enterprises,  and  represented  also  by  the  class  of 
politicians  who  care  very  little  about  what  policies  and 
principles  the  party  asserts  if  only  they  can  gain  a  "vic- 
tory *'  and  get  the  offices, — these  favor  a  non-committal 
policy  in  the  social  and  industrial  struggle.  They  would 
appeal  to  the  support  of  moneyed  men.  They  would 
therefore  do  nothing  to  disturb  the  promotion  of  great 
capitalistic  enterprises   and   combinations.     They  favor 


Recent  Party  History  131 

the  abandonment  of  all  agitation  for  the  income  tax  and 
other  radical  propositions  for  the  taxation  of  corporate 
wealth,  and  an  abandonment  of  opposition  to  "govern- 
ment by  injunction."  They  would  check  any  tendency 
toward  more  government  establishments  and  a  larger  con- 
trol of  business, — of  savings-banks,  of  a  parcels  post,  of 
inter-State  commerce,  of  the  telegraph  and  the  railroads. 
This  would  mean  that  upon  the  industrial  and  social 
issues  in  our  domestic  politics  the  Democratic  party 
should  be  brought  substantially  to  the  ground  of  its  op- 
ponents, that  it  should  be  again  a  conservative  party, 
and  that  party  contests  should  be  waged  on  general  prin- 
ciples of  opposition  to  the  Administration  in  favor  of  a 
minimum  amount  of  government,  and  for  the  old  doctrine 
of  a  "tariff  for  revenue  only."  The  conservatives  desire 
to  reorganize  and  harmonize  the  Democratic  party, — 
with  the  conservatives  in  control,  to  restore  the  party 
conditions  of  1892.  It  is  an  attempt  to  yoke  Mr.  Cleve- 
land and  Mr.  Bryan  in  the  same  party  harness,  where  ap- 
parently they  do  not  belong. 

The  American  voters  have  very  generally  accepted  the 
idea  that  under  our  system  of  government  there  can  be 
but  two  parties, — that  a  third  party  tends  to  break  up  the 
solidarity  of  the  State  and  leads  to  impotency  and  con- 
fusion. But  for  this  idea  and  habit,  the  conditions  were 
favorable  in  1896  and  1900  for  the  formation  of  another 
party  with  a  purpose  more  permanent  than  merely  to 
secure  the  defeat  of  one  of  the  parties  in  a  single  cam- 
paign. This  might  have  been  composed  of  the  Gold 
Democrats  and  others  who  were  displeased  with  Mr. 
Bryan  and  free  silver  and  too  many  government  enter- 
prises, and  of  disaffected  Republicans  and  independents 
who  were  opposed  to  continued  high  protection  and  the 
foreign  policy  of  the  Republican  party  and  who  professed 
to  vote  the  Republican  ticket  because  they  had  no  other 
which  they  could  consistently  support.     The  result  was 


132  Political  Parties  and  Party  Problems 

a  large  body  of  malcontents.  To  a  large  element  the  sit- 
uation presented  a  choice  between  two  evils.  The  ten- 
dency to  avoid  the  organization  of  a  third  party  leads  to 
an  attempt  among  politicians  to  harmonize  elements  that 
are  essentially  out  of  harmony,  that  have  no  vital  unity 
of  principle  and  purpose.  The  result  is  sharp  practice, 
evasive  platforms,  the  suppression  of  men's  honest  con- 
victions "for  the  sake  of  the  party,"  and  the  final  decep- 
tion and  disappointment  of  one  wing  or  the  other  of  the 
party  forces.*  It  is  in  such  a  period  of  transition  as  from 
1892  to  igoo,  when  parties  seek  to  adjust  themselves  to 
new  conditions  and  new  issues,  that  third  parties  increase 
their  supporters,  and  a  large  element  of  discontent  exists 
within  the  old  parties.  Such  is  the  dominant  character- 
istic of  the  party  situation  within  the  last  decade.  If  the 
Democratic  party  should  return  to  the  conservative  plat- 
form and  leadership  of  1892  it  requires  no  very  great 
foresight  to  predict,  in  the  light  of  present  industrial 
struggles  and  of  the  greatly  increased  Socialist  vote  of 
1902,'  that  the  new  Socialist  Democracy  will  rise  to  a 
commanding  position  as  a  third  contestant  for  party 
supremacy. 

'  See  an  article  in  the  Forum  for  August,  1901,  on  "  The  Failure  of  the 
Two-Party  System,"  by  Albert  Watkins. 

*  The  Socialist  vote  in  the  Fall  elections  of  1902  is  estimated  at  about 
500,000,  a  tremendous  increase  over  that  of  any  previous  year.  This  is  the 
most  significant  fact  revealed  by  recent  party  contests. 


CHAPTER  IX 

MINOR  PARTIES 

AMERICANS  have  generally  accepted  the  two-party 
system.  It  is  difficult  to  induce  voters  to  leave 
their  parties  to  vote  with  a  *' third  party."  xheBi-party 
The  hope  of  such  a  party's  coming  into  power  System, 

seems  very  remote,  as  none  has  done  so  since  the  rise  of 
the  Republican  party  nearly  fifty  years  ago.  With  the 
growth  of  the  country  in  area  and  population  the  task  of 
organizing  and  maintaining  a  new  party  throughout  the 
nation,  and  the  stupendous  labor  and  expense  of  inducing 
the  majority  of  the  voters  to  come  to  its  support,  seem  to 
most  citizens  hopeless  and  unavailing.  No  matter  how 
disgusted  men  may  be  with  their  party,  they  will  vote 
with  it,  or  vote  with  the  opposition  to  rebuke  their  party, 
choosing,  for  the  time  being,  as  they  express  it,* 'the  lesser 
of  two  evils."  Though  there  may  be  thousands  of  these 
disgusted  voters  of  the  same  way  of  thinking,  they  can- 
not be  induced  to  "throw  away  their  votes  "  on  a  third 
party,  nor  do  they  feel  that  they  can  afford  to  organize  a 
new  party  ^that  would  really  represent  them.  This  is 
often  true  of  strong  party  men  who  remain  "very  still," 
sulking  in  their  tents  during  the  campaign,  and  absent 
themselves  from  the  polls,  or  who  vote  with  the  opposite 
party  as  a  means  of  defeating  the  dominant  leader  and 
faction  in  their  own.  However,  such  party  men  often 
organize  a  third-party  movement  for  temporary  purposes. 

133 


134  Political  Parties  and  Party  Problems 

The  two-party  habit  is  also  characteristic  of  most  of  the 
independent  voters  on  whom  party  ties  rest  h'ghtly. 

This  two-party  system  is  supposed  to  be  in  harmony 
with  the  party  custom  in  Great  Britain,  and  different  from 
En  Ush  and  ^^^  party  life  of  Continental  Europe,  where,  in 
Continental  each  country,  there  are  always  several  parties. 
Parties.  jj^^  j^^^  ^^^^  j^  England  third  parties  do  not 

exist  is  a  mistaken  one,  for  in  the  more  than  two  hundred 
years  of  party  history  since  the  Revolution  of  1688,  Eng- 
lish history  has  been  strewn  with  third  parties,  or  with 
the  "offshoots  "  and* 'wings"  of  the  old  parties.  Per- 
haps a  majority  of  the  most  important  ministerial 
measures  of  the  nineteenth  century  were  carried  and 
opposed  by  some  kind  of  combination  or  coalition  of 
varying  party  elements.  The  **01d  Tories"  and  the 
**Peelites,"  in  1830,  the  "AduUamites  "  and  the  "Radi- 
cal Liberals"  of  1866,  the  "Irish  Nationalists"  and 
"Liberal-Unionists"  of  recent  years  will  serve  to  illustrate 
the  lack  of  unity  in  English  party  life. 

In  America  third  parties  have  played  a  very  important 
part.  They  have  had  their  abuses,  as  they  have  at  times 
been  used  by  designing  men  as  a  means  of  faction  or 
of  corrupt  bargain  and  fusion.  But  they  have  also  had 
their  distinct  and  important  uses.  They  have  generally 
been  composed  of  men  of  earnest  convictions  and  zealous 
purposes,  and  they  have  exercised  a  very  considerable  in- 
fluence on  party  history,  sometimes  modifying  or  restrain- 
ing the  course  of  one  of  the  old  parties  and  sometimes,  as 
our  sketch  of  parties  has  shown,  even  turning  the  course 
of  party  history.  They  are  often  organized  and  directed 
by  earnest  and  patriotic  men,  who,  caring  little  for  the 
causes  at  issue  between  the  old  parties,  use  a  third  party 
as  a  means  of  agitation  and  education,  and  as  a  means  of 
enabling  a  considerable  body  of  political  opinion  to  find 
rational  expression  at  the  ballot-box.  The  idea  that  men 
must  vote  with  one  of  two  parties  is  very  illogical  and 


Minor  Parties  135 

leads,  at  times,  to  absurd  political  inconsistencies.*  It 
leads  citizens  to  vote  for  men  whom  they  do  not  trust,  and 
to  subscribe  to  principles  in  which  they  do  not  believe. 
It  is  often  an  obstacle  to  healthy  political  education  and 
development.  It  tends  to  induce  men  to  subordinate 
their  real  convictions  for  the  mere  idle  purpose  of  rallying 
under  a  traditional  party  name  to  carry  an  election. 
Rational  politics  requires  that  men  should  stand  and  vote 
together  for  what  they  think  is  paramount.  Men  will 
reasonably  subordinate  some  of  their  political  desires  for 
the  sake  of  securing  others,  which  they  deem  of  greater 
importance,  or  for  the  sake  of  preventing  the  country 
from  pursuing  what  may  be  considered  a  dangerous 
course.  But  to  go  with  a  party  which  the  voter  thinks 
is  fundamentally  wrong  or  is  headed  entirely  in  the  wrong 
direction,  merely  because  the  other  party  is  worse,  is  not 
calculated  to  make  for  wholesome  politics  or  for  the 
ultimate  benefit  of  the  country.  Third  parties  do  a 
great  service  in  enabling  voters  to  stand  up  for  their 
opinions. 

Our  sketch  of  parties  has  treated  of  those  minor 
parties  whose  influence  has  been  most  pronounced  in 
determining  the  course  of  party  history.  A  few  others 
of  temporary  interest  and  influence  may  be  briefly  de- 
scribed. 

'  Under  the  present  conditions  in  American  politics  but  little  reason  can 
be  given  for  the  attempt  to  "reorganize"  and  "  harmonize "  in  one  party 
men  of  radically  different  characters  and  purposes, — except  from  the 
standpoint  of  the  party  politicians  who  want  to  carry  elections  and  elect  a 
President  merely  "  to  have  and  to  hold  "  the  offices  and  to  dispense  patron- 
age. Radicalism  and  Conservatism  pull  apart ;  they  cannot  be  yoked  to- 
gether. The  conservative  National  Democratic  party  of  1896  should  have 
continued  to  stand  for  its  principles,  as  the  Populists  did,  and  it  would  not 
have  been  looked  upon  as  a  mere  factious  and  temporary  scheme  of 
politicians  to  hoodwink  some  of  the  rank  and  file  of  the  regular  Democrats, 
or  to  punish  the  majority  leaders  as  a  means  of  subsequently  controlling 
the  party.  See  the  article,  "  Failure  of  the  Two- Party  System,"  by  Albert 
Watkins,  Forum,  August,  1901. 


136  Political  Parties  and  Party  Problems 

The  Quids  were  the  first  third  party  in  our  national 
history.  They  arose  under  Jefferson's  administration, 
1 804-1 808,  and  were  led  by  John  Randolph  of 
Roanoke.  Randolph  and  the  Quids  became 
dissatisfied  with  Jefferson's  administration  on  two  ac- 
counts. It  had  violated  true  Republican  principles  (which 
required  strict  adherence  to  States'  rights)  in  going  too 
far  toward  the  promotion  of  national  power,  as  in  the  ac- 
quisition of  Louisiana  and  in  the  government  of  that 
Territory  and  in  its  embargo  and  commercial  policies.  In 
the  second  place,  Randolph  was  displeased  with  Jeffer- 
son's policy  toward  West  Florida.  Jefferson  publicly 
asserted  our  rightful  claim  to  that  territory,  and  intimated 
that  force  would  be  employed  against  Spain  to  maintain 
our  rights,  while  privately  he  was  applying  to  Congress 
for  money  with  which  to  induce  France  to  put  such 
pressure  on  Spain  as  would  induce  the  latter  country  to 
concede  our  claim.  Randolph  denounced  this  policy  as 
deceitful  chicanery,  and  he  refused  to  support  the  Admin- 
istration. He  sought  to  elect  Monroe  over  Madison  in 
1808,  holding  that  the  Administration  had  gone  far  tow- 
ard Roman  imperialism  and  corruption.  His  faction 
became  a  tertium  quid,  belonging  neither  to  the  Admin- 
istration nor  to  the  opposition  forces.  They  had,  of 
course,  no  organization  nor  machinery  such  as  we  recog- 
nize in  parties  to-day. 

The  Blue-Light  Federalists  was  the  name  applied  to  the 
Federalist  opponents  of  the  War  of  18 12.  In  1 813  Com- 
The  Blue-  niodorc  Decatur  claimed  that  he  was  prevented. 
Light  on  certain  dark  nights,  from  getting  to  sea  with 

FederaUsts.  j^j^  frigates  from  the  blockaded  port  of  New 
London,  by  blue-light  signals,  set  to  warn  the  British. 
The  Federalists  opposed  to  the  war  were  charged  with 
giving  these  signals,  and  all  opponents  of  the  war  in  New 
England  were  called  "Blue-Light  Federalists." 

The  Anti-Masonic  party  was  before  the  public  in  the 


Minor  Parties  137 

years  from  1828  to  1832.  It  grew  out  of  opposition  to 
the  Masonic  fraternity,  which  was  accused  of  responsi- 
bility for  the  murder  of  William  Morgan  in  jheAnti- 
1826.  Morgan  had  prepared  a  book  revealing  the  Masonic 
secrets  of  Free  Masonry,  and  for  this  violation  ' 

of  his  oath  he  was  kidnapped,  and  it  is  supposed  that  he 
was  drowned  in  the  Niagara  River.  The  Masons  were 
accused  of  systematically  thwarting  all  investigation,  of 
placing  their  secret  obligations  above  the  obligations  of 
citizenship,  and  thus  shielding  the  kidnappers  from  prose- 
cution and  baffling  justice.  Great  excitement  and  indig- 
nation were  aroused  against  the  Masons,  and  in  western 
New  York,  the  scene  of  the  Morgan  abduction,  this  senti- 
ment was  represented  in  a  State  political  party,  which 
polled  33,000  votes  for  Governor  in  1828.  The  Anti- 
Masonic  party  increased  this  vote  in  New  York  in  1829  to 
70,000,  and  in  1830  to  128,000,  displacing  in  that  State 
the  National  Republican  party.  William  H.  Seward, 
Millard  Fillmore,  and  Thurlow  Weed,  afterwards  dis- 
tinguished Whig  leaders,  first  entered  politics  as  young 
men  in  New  York  in  the  ranks  of  the  Anti-Masons.  The 
agitation  spread  to  the  neighboring  States,  and  the  Anti- 
Masons  organized  as  a  national  party  as  one  wing  of  the 
opposition  to  President  Jackson's  administration.  In 
Pennsylvania  and  Vermont  it  was  the  controlling  anti- 
Democratic  organization.  Their  first  National  Conven- 
tion, which  was  the  first  National  Convention  of  any 
party,  was  held  at  Philadelphia  in  September,  1830.  Ten 
States  were  represented  by  ninety-six  delegates.  It  was 
voted  to  hold  a  second  National  Convention  at  Baltimore 
in  September,  1831,  to  be  composed  of  as  many  delegates 
from  each  State  as  there  were  representatives  in  both 
Houses  of  Congress.  These  delegates  were  to  be  chosen 
by  those  who  were  opposed  to  secret  societies,  and  were 
to  meet  for  the  purpose  of  nominating  candidates  for 
President  and  Vice-President.     With  this  party,  there- 


138  Political  Parties  and  Party  Problems 

fore,  originated  the  party-convention  system  of  the  pres- 
ent day.  Their  Convention  in  1831  nominated  William 
Wirt  of  Maryland  for  President  and  Amos  Ellmaker  of 
New  York  for  Vice-President.  In  the  election  of  1832 
these  candidates  carried  only  the  electoral  vote  of  Ver- 
mont. The  Anti-Masons  were  afterwards  absorbed  by 
the  Whigs,  except  in  Pennsylvania,  where  they  retained 
their  separate  identity  for  some  years,  electing  a  Governor 
in  1835.  Within  the  Whig  party  the  Anti-Masons  were 
strong  enough  to  secure  the  nomination  of  Harrison  as 
against  Clay  in  1836  and  1840.  The  party  has  the 
"unique  distinction  of  being  the  only  party  in  American 
political  history  not  based  on  some  theory  of  constitu- 
tional construction  or  on  some  governmental  policy."  * 
The  Loco-Focos  were  a  radical  faction  of  the  Democratic 
arty  in  New  York  State  in  1 835-1 837.  Under  Federalist 
he  Loco-  control  in  that  State  the  method  of  issuing 
•^-  bank    charters     and    controlling    banks    was 

charged  by  the  opposition  with  favoritism  and  corruption. 
After  the  removal  of  the  United  States  deposits  from  the 
Second  United  States  Bank  and  Jackson's  veto  of  the 
Bank  Bill  the  number  of  State  banks  greatly  increased  and 
the  exemptions  and  special  privileges  of  their  charters  be- 
came quite  a  scandal.  An  "Equal  Rights"  party  was 
formed,  within  the  regular  Democratic  party,  opposed  to 
granting  special  privileges.  At  a  meeting  in  Tammany 
Hall,  October  29,  1835,  the  regular  Tammany  Democrats 
tried  to  gain  control.  They  were  outnumbered;  but 
they  proposed  to  win  their  point  by  a  coup  d'etat.  Their 
chairman  left  his  seat,  and  the  lights  were  extinguished 
with  the  purpose  of  breaking  up  the  meeting.  But  the 
"Equal  Rights"  men  produced  candles  znd.  loco-foco 
matches  and  continued  the  meeting.  The  next  day  the 
Courier  and  Enquirer  dubbed  the  Equal  Rights  men  Loco- 

*  McMaster,  vol.   v.,   pp.    114-120 ;  Stanwood,  pp.   155-157  ;    Lalor's 
Cyc.  Pol.  Set, 


Minor  Parties  139 

Focos,  The  name  clung  to  them  and  came  to  be  applied 
to  the  whole  National  Democratic  party  by  their  oppo- 
nents, as  this  wing  became  dominant  in  the  party.  It 
was  they  who  announced  the  platform  of  1836  in  New 
York  which  was  generally  accepted  by  the  party.*  The 
lucifer  match  was  then  comparatively  new.  The  word 
loco-foco  was  ignorantly  made  after  the  model  of  the 
word  "  locomotive,"  which  had  then  recently  come 
into  use.  **  Locomotive  "  was  supposed  to  mean  self- 
moving,  and  "loco-foco"  was  supposed  to  mean  self- 
lighting.' 

The  North  Americans  were  those  who  seceded  from  the 
American  Convention  that  nominated  Fillmore  in  1856. 
They  were  Anti-Nebraska  men  who  had  been  The  North 
associated  with  the  Knownothing,  (^  Ameri-  Americans, 
can,  party.  They  were  resolved  that  the  American  party 
should  nominate  for  President  and  Vice-President  only 
such  men  as  were  in  favor  of  congressional  prohibition  of 
slavery  north  of  36°  30'.  Upon  the  failure  of  the  party 
so  to  declare,  the  delegates  representing  constituencies 
of  this  way  of  thinking  withdrew  from  the  Convention. 
They  afterwards  nominated  Fremont,  the  Republican 
candidate,  though  they  rejected  Dayton,  Fremont's  run- 
ning mate,  taking  up  Johnston  of  Pennsylvania  instead. 
As  an  indication  of  the  factious  tendency  of  those  times 
it  may  be  stated  that  conservative  North  Americans,  not 
satisfied  with  the  nomination  of  Fremont,  caused  still  an- 
other secession,  and  nominated  Commodore  Stockton  for 
President. 

In  this  year  (1856)  the  Political  Abolitionists  nominated 
Gerrit  Smith  for  President  and  Frederick  Douglass  for 
Vice-President. 

The  Liberal  Republicans  of  1872  were  organized  as  a 
protest  against  corruption  in  the  administration  of  the 
National  Government,  and  to  secure  civil-service  reform 

*  See  p.  46.  '  See  Century  Dictionary, 


I40  Political  Parties  and  Party  Problems 

and  tariff  reform  on  free-trade  lines.  They  had  for  their 
leaders  some  of  the  most  distinguished  men  of  the  nation, 
Liberal  — Hon.  David  A.  Wells,  ex-Governor  Hoadley 

RepubUcans,  of  Ohio,  E.  L.  Godkin,  editor  of  the  Nation ; 
'  ^^*  Chauncey  M.  Depew,  Horace  Greeley,  Charles 

Sumner,  Charles  Francis  Adams,  Murat  Halstead, 
editor  of  the  Cincinnati  Commercial ;  Whitelaw  Reid, 
of  the  New  York  Tribune ;  Horace  White,  of  the 
Chicago  Tribune ;  Edward  Atkinson  of  Boston,  Hon. 
Carl  Schurz,  Lyman  Trumbull,  John  M.  Palmer,  and 
David  Davis,  the  last  three  from  Illinois.  President 
Grant's  scheme  for  the  annexation  of  Santo  Domingo  to 
the  United  States  had  especially  aroused  the  opposition 
of  Greeley  and  Sumner ;  the  control  of  State  patronage 
and,  consequently,  of  the  party  machinery  by  certain 
Senators  favored  in  appointments  by  President  Grant 
excited  opposition  and  the  consequent  demand  for  civil- 
service  reform.  It  was  charged  that  these  "senatorial 
bosses  "  were  manipulating  the  offices  for  private  pur- 
poses. The  Liberal  Republicans,  therefore,  stood  for 
** reform,"  and  "anything  to  beat  Grant."  They  de- 
nounced Grant  for  using  the  powers  of  his  office  for  per- 
sonal ends,  for  keeping  corrupt  and  unworthy  men  in 
power,  for  rewarding  men  with  offices  in  return  for  per- 
sonal presents,  and  for  building  up  by  means  of  patronage 
a  tyrannical  party  machine  that  was  attempting  to  stifle 
public  opinion.  The  party  pledged  itself  to  equality  be- 
fore the  law,  to  the  union  of  the  States,  and  the  war 
amendments ;  to  the  removal  of  all  Southern  political  dis- 
abilities, and  universal  amnesty ;  to  local  self-government 
with  impartial  suffrage ;  to  a  thorough  reform  of  the  civil 
service,  to  the  end  that  "honesty,  capacity,  and  fidelity 
should  constitute  the  only  valid  claims  to  public  employ- 
ment, and  as  a  means  to  this  end  ' '  no  President  should 
be  a  candidate  for  re-election;  the  maintenance  of  the 
public  credit ;  a  speedy  return  to  specie  payments ;  oppo- 


Minor  Parties  141 

sition  to  further  railroad  grants.  Recognizing  a  differ- 
ence within  the  party  on  free  trade  and  protection,  the 
party  declared  for  "a  system  of  Federal  taxation  which 
shall  not  unnecessarily  interfere  with  the  industry  of  the 
people,"  and  "we  remit  the  discussion  of  the  subject  to 
the  people  in  their  congressional  districts  and  the  decision 
of  Congress  thereon,  wholly  free  from  executive  interfer- 
ence or  dictation. ' '  The  party  nominated  Horace  Greeley 
of  New  York  for  President,  and  B.  Gratz  Brown  of  Mis- 
souri for  Vice-President.  The  Democrats,  as  a  means  of 
combining  all  the  opposition  to  the  Republicans,  endorsed 
both  the  platform  and  the  nominations  of  the  Liberal  Re- 
publicans, but  the  rank  and  file  of  the  Democratic  party 
did  not  entirely  unite  in  their  support.  A  con-  „  g^^^  ^^ 
vention  of  "Straight  Democrats  "  met  in  Lou-  Democrats" 
isville  in  September  and  nominated  Charles  °^  ^^^^' 
O'Conor  of  New  York  for  President,  and  John  Quincy 
Adams  of  Massachusetts  for  Vice-President.  Though 
these  Straight  Democratic  nominees  drew  but  few  votes, 
Greeley  and  Brown  were  overwhelmingly  defeated,  and 
Grant  was  triumphantly  re-elected.  Many  of  the  Liberal 
Republicans  remained  permanently  with  the  Democratic 
party,  many  returned  to  the  Republicans,  while  others 
became  professional  independents,  the  forerunners  of  the 
Mugwumps. 

The  Mugwumps  appeared  in  1884,  as  bolting  Republi- 
cans and  Independents  in  opposition  to  Mr.  Blaine,  the 
presidential  nominee  of  the  Republican  party. 
The  New  York  Evening  Post  in  1884  com- 
plained that  the  Blaine  organs  constantly  referred  to  the 
independent  Republicans  as  **  Pharisees,  hypocrites,  mug- 
wumps, transcendentalists,  or  something  of  that  sort." 
In  American  political  history  the  Mugwumps  may,  then, 
be  defined  originally  as  one  of  the  independent  members 
of  the  Republican  party  who  in  1884  refused  to  support 
the  nominee  of  that  party  for  the  presidency,  and  either 


142  Political  Parties  and  Party  Problems 

voted  for  the  Democratic  or  the  Prohibitionist  candidate 
or  abstained  from  voting.  The  term  has  come  to  include 
all  independents  who  act  on  the  principle  of  going  from 
one  party  to  the  other  according  as  they  like  or  dislike 
the  candidate  put  forward,  or  in  response  to  their  convic- 
tions on  some  political  cause  which  they  deem  of  para- 
mount importance.  George  William  Curtis  was  the  most 
prominent  of  the  Mugwumps,  and  civil-service  reform  is 
the  cause  to  which  they  have  been  chiefly  attached.  The 
word  ** mugwump,"  like  many  political  nicknames,  first 
given  in  derision,  came  to  be  accepted  as  an  honorable 
title.  ^ 

The  Prohibitionists  came  into  the  field  in  1872,  and 
they  have  regularly  nominated  candidates  for  President 
The  Pro-  ^^^^  Vice-President  since  that  time.  The  main 
hibitionists.  principle  of  the  party  has  been  the  legisla- 
tive prohibition  of  the  manufacture  and  sale  of  in- 
toxicating liquors,  except  for  religious,  medicinal,  and 
scientific  purposes.  James  Black  of  Pennsylvania  was  the 
party's  first  candidate  for  President,  and  he  polled  5608 
votes.  In  1876  General  Green  Clay  Smith  of  Kentucky 
was  nominated  and  he  received  10,000  of  the  8,000,000 
votes  cast.  In  1880  General  Neal  Dow  of  Maine,  the  Nes- 
tor of  Prohibition,  stood  as  the  candidate  of  this  party, 
and  he  received  a  slightly  increased  vote  over  that  of  1876. 
In  1884  John  P.  St.  John,  ex-Governor  of  Kansas,  polled 
150,000  votes  for  this  party,  drawing  many  dissatisfied 
Republicans  of  Mugwump  proclivities  who  would  not 
vote  for  Cleveland.  In  this  year  the  Prohibitionists  cast 
25,000  votes  in  the  State  of  New  York,  and  as  Cleveland 
was  elected  by  the  vote  of  that  State  on  a  plurality  of 
only  1 100  the  defeat  of  Blaine  was  attributed  to  the  de- 
fection among  Republican  Prohibitionists,  and  the  elec- 
tion of  1884  in  New  York  was,  on  this  account,  compared 

'  See  Senator  George  F.  Hoar's  article  defending  the  Republican  partisan 
as  against  the  Mugwump,  in  the  International  Reviexv  for  October,  1900. 


Minor  Parties  i43 

to  that    of    1844,  when  the  Whig  Abolitionists   caused 
Clay's  defeat  by  voting  for  Birney.' 

Since  1884  the  Prohibitionists  have  not  materially  in- 
creased their  voting  strength,  though  they  have  stood 
faithfully  and  persistently  for  their  cause.  The  party  is 
distinguished  as  being  the  longest-lived  and  most  persis- 
tent third  party  in  our  history.  It  is  composed  of  con- 
scientious men  of  earnest  convictions,  especially  on  moral 
questions,  and  their  influence,  with  that  of  their  allies, 
the  Women's  Christian  Temperance  Union,  has  been  very 
forcible  and  positive  in  many  States  in  restraining  the  old 
parties  from  permitting  too  lax  a  policy  toward  the  liquor 
evil.  Many  voters  in  both  the  Democratic  and  Republi- 
can parties  have  Prohibition  leanings,  and  the  fear  that 
these  may  leave  their  parties  for  the  Prohibitionists 
makes  the  third-party  weapon  an  effective  instrument  of 
education  and  restraint.  In  recent  years  the  Prohibition 
voters  have  had  a  tendency  toward  radicalism  on  financial 
and  industrial  issues,  and  in  1896,  like  the  other  parties  in 
that  eventful  year,  it  suffered  a  schism  in  its  ranks,  the 
conservatives  contending  that  no  public  expression  be 
put  forth  except  on  the  liquor  traffic,  and  the  radicals 
going  in  for  free  silver,  government  control  and  issue  of 
money,  woman  suffrage,  national  control  of  railroads  and 
telegraphs,  and  other  reforms.  It  is  largely  the  increased 
public  interest  in  the  social  and  industrial  issues  and  the 
intensity  of  party  contests  over  these  that  have  prevented 
the  growth  of  the  Prohibition  vote. 

Of  late  years  several  Socialist  parties  have  appeared 
with  presidential  candidates.  The  most  important  of 
these  is  the  Social  Democratic  party,  which  is  ^^^ 

now  generally  known  as  merely  the  Socialist     Democratic 
party.     This  was  formed  at  Chicago  in  June, 
1898.       It   grew   out    of   a   heterogeneous   organization 
formed  by   Eugene  V.    Debs    in    1897.       It  stands   for 

'  See  p.  62. 


144  Political  Parties  and  Party  Problems 

socialism  and  democracy.  It  declares  its  object  to  be 
"the  establishment  of  a  system  of  co-operative  production 
and  distribution  through  the  restoration  to  the  people  of 
all  the  means  of  production  and  distribution,  to  be  admin- 
istered by  organized  society  in  the  interest  of  the  whole 
people,  and  the  complete  emancipation  of  society  from 
the  domination  of  capitalism."  In  principles  and  pur- 
pose the  Social  Democratic  party  is  almost  identical  with 
the  Socialist  Labor  party,  and  its  formation  was  really  a 
protest  against  conditions  existing  in  that  party.  Eugene 
V.  Debs  is  the  national  organizer  of  the  Social  Demo- 
cratic party  and  to  his  efforts  largely  its  growth  has  been 
due.  The  party  has  elected  mayors  in  Haverhill  and 
Brockton,  Massachusetts,  and  has  met  with  other  local 
successes  in  that  State.  Mayor  Jones,  of  Toledo,  inde- 
pendent Socialist  candidate  for  Governor  of  Ohio  in  1899, 
represents,  in  general,  the  same  tendency.  His  vote  of 
130,000  for  the  Ohio  governorship  indicates  that  there 
has  been  rapid  growth  of  Socialist  opinions,  and  the 
Social  Democratic  party  is  an  effort  to  give  this  body  of 
opinion  a  material  organization  in  permanent  party  shape. 
The  Social  Democratic  movement  is  chiefly  a  working- 
class  movement. 

Besides  the  Social  Democrats  there  are  three  distinct 
bodies  of  Socialists  in  America,  all  aiming  at  the  over- 
SociaUst  throw  of  the  existing  economic  and  social  order 
Labor  and  and  the  Substitution  therefor  of  radically  dif- 
SociaUstic  fcrcnt  forms.  These  are  the  Socialist  Labor 
Parties.  party,  the  International  Working  People  s  Asso- 

ciation, and  the  International  Workingmen  s  Associatioji, 
The  two  latter  bodies  favor  violent  methods,  while  the 
Socialist  Labor  party  condemns  violent  methods  and 
seeks  its  end  by  peaceful  education  and  agitation  and 
through  present  political  institutions.  In  the  various  dis- 
putes in  the  several  early  Socialist  conventions  in  America 
the  moderate  party  separated  from  the  extremists.     The 


Minor  Parties  14^ 

moderates  formed  the  Socialist  Labor  party.  They  are 
not  anarchists,  for  they  do  not  oppose  government  and 
the  state ;  nor  do  they  wish  the  state  to  be  merely  a  vol- 
untary association,  as  the  anarchist  desires.  But  the 
Socialist  Labor  party  would  have  a  socialistic  state,  a  peo- 
ple's co-operative  commonwealth.  Socialism  sodaUsm  and 
is  the  opposite  of  anarchy.  Anarchy  teaches  Anarchy 
that  government  should  control  in  nothing,  °^  ^^^^^  ' 
not  even  to  protect  life  and  property, — **the  perfect 
unfettered  self-government  of  the  individual  and,  con- 
sequently, the  absence  of  any  kind  of  external  govern- 
ment."^ Socialism,  on  the  other  hand,  teaches  that 
government  shall  control  in  everything.  It  affirms  that 
the  state  should  own  and  control  all  the  tools  and  plants 
of  industry  and  should  direct  all  occupations,  requiring 
of  each  according  to  his  strength  and  speed,  and  giving 
unto  each  according  to  his  weakness  and  need.  The 
Socialist  believes  in  the  trust ;  not  the  trust  for  pri- 
vate benefit,  but  he  would  have  the  nation  organized 
into  one  great  trust  and  allow  all  the  people  to  come 
in  for  dividends.  The  government  should  prevent  over- 
production in  some  lines  and  under-production  in  others. 
Anarchy  leaves  all  to  the  individual;  in  Socialism  the 
individual  is  merged  in  the  social  community,  the  state. 
Anarchism  would  have  no  state  control,  except  by  the 
voluntary  assent  of  every  individual.  Socialism  would 
have  no  individualism  except  in  subordination  to  and 
complete  subjection  by  the  constituted  authorities  of  the 
state. 

The  Socialist  parties  are  generally  in  favor  of  reduction 
of  hours  of  labor ;  government  issue  of  money ;  that  inven- 
tions should  be  free  to  all ;  progressive  inheritance  and  in- 
come taxes ;  public  employment  of  the  unemployed ;  the 
imperative  mandate  and  the  referendum ;  the  abolition  of 
the  executive  veto ;  and  that  all  public  officers  should  be 

*  E.  V.  Zenker,  Anarchism. 


4^  Political  Parties  and  Party  Problems 


subject  to  recall.  It  will  thus  be  seen  that  their  move- 
ment stands  for  extreme  democracy. 

The  "Middle-of-the-Road"  Populists,  or  the  Anti- 
Fusion  voters  of  that  party,  represent  Socialist  tendencies, 
and  favor  radical  democratic  policies.  They  stand  for  an 
enlargement  of  direct  popular  control  over  government 
and  social  and  industrial  agencies,  especially  through  the 
operation  of  the  initiative  and  the  referendum,  and  they 
refuse  to  be  turned  from  the  "middle  of  the  road  "  for 
fusion  or  combination  with  other  parties  for  immediate 
interests  or  elections.  They  cast  50,000  votes  for  Whar- 
ton Barker  for  President  in  1900. 

Of  these  minor  parties  it  will  be  seen  that  some  of  them 
have  been  radical  and  some  conservative,  as  the  same 
RadicaUsm  vs  ^iff^^ence  characterizes  periods  and  movements 
Conservatism  in  the  life  of  the  larger  parties.  So  party  his- 
in  Parties.  ^^^.^  ^^^^  ^^  j^  begins  with  this  fundamental 
distinction  between  parties. 

A  great  philosophical  historian,  in  speaking  of  a  "real 
natural  history  of  parties,"  finds  the  division  to  corre- 
spond roughly  to  "certain  broad  distinctions  of  mind  and 
character  that  never  can  be  effaced. '  *  They  are  the  dis- 
tinctions that  most  historians  of  parties  have  made  be- 
tween conservatism  and  radicalism. 

**  The  distinctions  between  content  and  hope,  between  cau- 
tion and  confidence,  between  the  imagination  that  throws  a 
halo  of  reverent  association  around  the  past  and  that  which 
opens  out  brilliant  vistas  of  improvement  in  the  future,  be- 
tween the  mind  that  perceives  most  clearly  the  advantages  of 
existing  institutions  and  the  possible  dangers  of  change  and 
that  which  sees  most  keenly  the  defects  of  existing  institutions 
and  the  vast  additions  that  may  be  made  to  human  well-being, 
form  in  all  classes  of  men  opposite  biases  which  find  their  ex- 
pression in  party  divisions.  The  one  side  rests  chiefly  on  the 
great  truth  that  one  of  the  first  conditions  of  good  government 
is  essential  stability,  and  on  the  extreme  danger  of  a  nation's 


Minor  Parties  i47 

cutting  itself  off  from  the  traditions  of  its  past,  denuding  its 
government  of  all  moral  support,  and  perpetually  tampering 
with  the  main  pillars  of  the  state.  The  other  side  rests  chiefly 
on  the  no  less  certain  truths  that  Government  is  an  organic 
thing,  that  it  must  be  capable  of  growing,  expanding,  and 
adapting  itself  to  new  conditions  of  thought  or  of  society ;  that 
it  is  subject  to  grave  diseases,  which  can  only  be  arrested  by  a 
constant  vigilance,  and  that  its  attributes  and  functions  are 
susceptible  of  almost  an  infinite  variety  and  extension  with  the 
new  and  various  developments  of  national  life.  The  one  side 
represents  the  statical,  the  other  the  dynamical  element  in 
politics.  Each  can  claim  for  itself  a  natural  affinity  to  some 
of  the  highest  qualities  of  mind  and  character,  and  each,  per- 
haps, owes  quite  as  much  of  its  strength  to  mental  and  moral 
disease.  Stupidity  is  naturally  conservative.  The  large 
classes,  who  are  blindly  wedded  to  routine  and  are  simply  in- 
capable of  understanding  or  appreciating  new  ideas,  or  the 
exigencies  of  changed  circumstances,  or  the  conditions  of  a 
reformed  society,  find  their  natural  place  in  the  conservative 
ranks.  Folly,  on  the  other  hand,  is  naturally  radical.  To 
this  side  belongs  the  cast  of  mind  which,  having  no  sense  of 
the  infinite  complexity  and  interdependence  of  political  prob- 
lems, of  the  part  which  habit,  association,  and  tradition  play 
in  every  healthy  political  organism,  and  of  the  multifarious 
remote  and  indirect  consequences  of  every  institution,  is  pre- 
pared with  a  light  heart  and  a  reckless  hand  to  recast  the  whole 
framework  of  the  Constitution  in  the  interest  of  speculation  or 
experiment.  The  colossal  weight  of  national  selfishness  gravi- 
tates naturally  to  conservatism.  That  party  rallies  round  its 
banner  the  great  multitude  who,  having  made  their  position, 
desire  merely  to  keep  things  as  they  are ;  who  are  prepared  to 
subordinate  their  whole  policy  to  the  maintenance  of  class 
privileges;  who  look  with  cold  hearts  and  apathetic  minds  on 
the  vast  mass  of  remediable  misery  and  injustice  around  them, 
who  have  never  made  a  serious  effort,  or  perhaps  conceived  a 
serious  desire,  to  leave  the  world  in  any  respect  a  better  place 
than  they  found  it.  .  .  .  Conservatism  is  usually  less  effi- 
cient than  its  rival,  because  its  leaders  are  paralyzed  by  the 


14^  Political  Parties  and  Party  Problems 

atmosphere  of  selfishness  pervading  their  ranks,  and  because 
most  of  the  reforming  and  energetic  intellects  are  ranged 
among  their  opponents.  On  the  other  hand  the  acrid  humors 
and  more  turbulent  passions  of  society  flow  strongly  in  the 
radical  direction.  Envy,  which  hates  every  privilege  or  dig- 
nity it  does  not  share,  is  intensely  democratic,  and  disordered 
ambitions  and  dishonest  adventurers  find  their  natural  place  in 
the  party  of  progress  and  change."  * 

*  W.  E.  H.  Lecky,  History  of  England  in  the  Eighteenth  Century^  vol. 
i'.  PP->  513-515.  I  hiave  substituted  the  terms  radical  and  conservative 
for  Mr.  Lecky's  terms  Liberal  and  Tory  in  this  extract. 


PART  II 

AMERICAN  PARTY  MACHINERY  AND 
HOW  IT  WORKS 


14(9 


CHAPTER  X 

THE  COMPOSITION  OF  THE  NATIONAL  CONVENTION 

THE  party  machine  is  the  party  organization.  This 
consists  of  the  national,  State,  and  local  party  com- 
mittees, and  the  conventions  which  are  called  and  pro- 
vided for  by  these  committees.  The  organization,  or 
machine,  may  be  considered  under  two  heads : 

1.  The  Permanent  Part, — the  continuing  committees 
which  are  always  in  existence  ready  for  party  service, 
though   their   membership   may  change  from 

year  to  year.  nent  and 

2.  The  Temporary  Part,— consisting  of  the  p^^^^^/JJ^ 
conventions  of  the  party  which  meet  at  ap-  Party 
pointed  times  to  formulate  party  platforms  and  Machine, 
policies,  nominate  candidates,  renew  the  committees, — in 
brief,  to  legislate  for  the  party  and  to  appoint  or  reappoint 
its  executive  agents,  the  committeemen. 

The  permanent  party  machine,  or  organization,  is  now 
in  working  order  for  the  manufacture  of  the  next  Presi- 
dent, Its  permanency  will  be  partly  understood  when  we 
say  that  this  party  machine  or  organization  has  been  in 
continuous  existence  for  the  Democratic  party  since  1836, 
and  for  the  Republican  party  since  1856.  The  compo- 
sition and  processes  of  this  permanent  machine  and  of 
the  temporary  conventions  held  under  its  direction,  what 
they  are  and  how  they  operate,  may  best  be  understood 

151 


152  Political  Parties  and  Party  Problems 

from  a  description  of  their  work  during  a  presidential  year. 
From  the  first  act  to  the  last  in  the  process  of  making  a 
President  we  have  to  note  what  various  party  organs  are 
concerned,  what  they  do,  and  how  and  why  they  do  it. 
The  purpose  of  this  part  of  the  volume  is  to  study  the 
party  machinery  in  actual  operation. 

The  various  steps  in  the  process  of  President-making 
by  our  party  and  electoral  machinery  may  be  summarized 
as  follows : 

1.  The  meeting  of  the  National  Committee,  on  call  of 
the  chairman,  for  the  purpose  of  naming  the  time  and 
place  of  the  next  National  Convention. 

2.  The  Committee  publishes  a  call  for  the  Convention. 

3.  State  and  District  Conventions  appoint  Delegates. 

4.  The  National  Convention  nominates  candidates  for 
President  and  Vice-President. 

5.  The  State  Conventions  nominate  presidential 
electors. 

6.  The  conduct  of  the  campaign. 

7.  The  presidential  election  in  November. 

8.  The  meeting  of  the  Electoral  College,  on  the  first 
Monday  in  January. 

9.  The  transmission  of  the  vote. 

10.  The  counting  of  the  electoral  vote  in  the  joint 
session  of  the  two  Houses  of  Congress  on  the  second 
Wednesday  in  February. 

11.  Declaring  the  result. 

12.  The  inauguration. 

In  following  this  process  we  shall  be  brought  to  the 
discussion  of  important  political  organs  and  their  uses. 

As  the  first  act  in  the  campaign  the  chairman  of  the 
National  Committee,  of  his  party,  calls  the  Committee 
to  meet  for  the  purpose  of  appointing  a  time  and  place 
for  holding  the  National  Convention. 

The  National  Committee  will  usually  meet  in  Washing- 
ton, D.  C.     Washington  is  the  political  capital  of  the 


Composition  of  the  National  Convention  153 

country,  the  political  headquarters,  especially  while  Con- 
gress is  in  session.  Many  members  of  the  National 
Committee  are  members  of  Congress,  and  the  ^  Meeting  of 
national  capital  is,  therefore,  the  most  conven-  the  National 
ient  place  for  the  Committee  to  meet.  The  **™°" 
Democratic  Committee  usually  meets  on  the  22d  of  Feb- 
ruary of  a  presidential  year,  the  Republican  Committee  in 
January  or  December.  While  the  Republicans  have  no 
fixed  time  for  the  meeting  of  their  Committee,  custom  has 
made  it  at  least  six  months  before  the  date  to  be  set  for 
the  convention. 

The  chief  purpose  of  this  meeting  is  to  issue  the 
call  for  the  National  Nominating  Convention.  2,  caUforthe 
The  following  is  from  the  ofBcial  call  for  the  National 
Republican  National  Convention  for  1900 :  onvention. 

*•  Headquarters  Republican  National  Committee, 

•'  Washington,  D.  C.,  Dec.  20,  1899. 

* '  To  the  Republican  voters  of  the  United  States : 

**  In  accordance  with  established  custom  and  in  obedience 
to  instructions  of  the  National  Convention  of  1896,  the  Na- 
tional Republican  Committee  directs  that  a  National  Conven- 
tion of  delegated  representatives  of  the  Republican  party  be 
held  at  the  city  of  Philadelphia,  in  the  State  of  Pennsylvania, 
for  the  purpose  of  nominating  candidates  for  President  and 
Vice-President,  to  be  voted  for  at  the  presidential  election, 
Tuesday,  November  6,  1900,  and  for  the  transaction  of  such 
other  business  as  may  properly  come  before  it,  and  that  said 
convention  shall  assemble  at  12  o'clock  noon  on  Tuesday,  the 
19th  day  of  June,  1900. 

*  *  The  Republican  electors  of  the  several  States,  the  District 
of  Columbia  and  the  Territories,  and  all  other  electors,  with- 
out regard  to  past  political  affiliations,  who  believe  in  the  prin- 
ciples of  the  Republican  party  and  indorse  its  policies,  are 
cordially  invited  to  unite  under  this  call  in  the  selection  of  can- 
didates for  President  and  Vice-President. ' ' 


T54  Political  Parties  and  Party  Problems 

The  call  then  goes  on  to  state  the  number  of  dele- 
gates to  the  National  Convention  and  how  these  shall  be 
elected ;  that  ' '  all  delegates  shall  be  elected  not  less  than 
thirty  days  before  the  meeting  of  the  Convention  " ;  and 
usually  the  call  invites  all  citizens  of  the  United  States, 
irrespective  of  past  political  associations  and  differences, 
to  unite  with  the  party  in  nominating  and  electing  the 
President, — to  secure  a  good,  honest,  and  economical  ad- 
ministration, and  to  prevent  the  government  from  being 
turned  over  to  its  enemies. 

A  matter  of  temporary  importance,  and  the  one  which 
excites  the  greatest  public  interest  and  attention  at  this 
Naming  the  i^ceting  of  the  Committee,  is  the  choice  of  a 
Convention  Convention  city.  Delegations  from  rival  cities 
^'  appear  before  the  Committee.     In  the  early 

years  of  the  century  Baltimore  had  the  distinction  of  be- 
ing known  as  the  ** Convention  City."  It  was  easy  of 
access,  half-way  between  the  North  and  the  South,  and 
it  was  supposed  not  to  be  decisively  permeated  with  either 
Northern  or  Southern  influence.  In  later  years  Chicago 
has  more  frequently  than  any  other  city  entertained  the 
National  Conventions.  In  its  location  and  from  its  rail- 
road facilities  Chicago  is  more  easily  and  fairly  accessible 
from  all  parts  of  the  country.  The  size  of  the  city,  its 
large  auditoriums,  and  its  hotel  accommodations  enable  it 
to  entertain  the  immense  crowds  of  delegates  and  visitors 
that  assemble  at  these  quadrennial  conventions.  It  is 
quite  desirable,  if  not  almost  essential,  that  the  conven- 
tion city  should  be  a  city  of  the  first  class,  affording  these 
conveniences  and  facilities.  But  it  is  not  always  from 
these  considerations  that  the  National  Committee  chooses 
the  place  for  the  Convention.  It  may  be  deemed  good 
politics,  as  a  means  of  influencing  the  political  opinion  of 
a  community,  to  have  the  Convention  meet  in  a  particu- 
lar section  of  the  country;  it  may  be  claimed  that  to 
choose  Indianapolis  would  be  to  secure  for  the  party  the 


Composition  of  the  National  Convention  155 

electoral  vote  of  Indiana,  or  to  choose  Kansas  City  would 
make  sure  of  the  votes  of  Kansas  and  Nebraska.  It  is 
not  evident  that  the  Convention  carries  with  it  such  in- 
fluence in  the  election.  The  friends  of  a  particular 
candidate  in  control  of  the  Committee  may  deem  it  inad- 
visable in  the  interest  of  their  candidate  to  have  the 
Convention  held,  for  instance,  in  New  York,  or  Philadel- 
phia, where,  presumably,  the  influence  locally  of  the  press 
and  party  would  be  adverse;  and,  again,  a  responsible 
commercial  delegation  from  a  city  may  offer  to  the  Com- 
mittee a  money  donation  to  the  campaign  fund  considerations 
of  the  party,  and  offer  to  pay  all  the  expenses  Determining 
of  the  Convention  in  exchange  for  the  choice  of  the  convention 
their   city.      A    committee   of   fifty   or    sixty  c^*y- 

business  men  from  a  city  seeking  the  Convention  make  a 
trip  to  Washington,  and  these,  combined  with  the  Sena- 
tors and  Representatives  of  that  section  of  the  country, 
importune  the  National  Committee  and  present  the 
**  claims  "  of  their  city.  This  is  generally  done  to  bring 
visitors  and  money  to  the  city,  and  the  effort  to  "land  " 
the  Convention  is  made  by  local  business  men  and  hotel 
interests  regardless  of  politics.  In  1900,  Philadelphia 
promised  to  the  Republican  National  Committee  a  do- 
nation of  $100,000  to  bring  the  Convention  to  that  city, 
and  Kansas  City  offered  $50,000  and  the  expenses  of 
the  Convention  to  the  Democratic  Committee.  The 
money  offer  is  often  a  decisive  factor  in  the  choice  of  the 
Committee. 

After  the  National  Committee  has  appointed  the 
time  and  place  for  the  National  Nominating  Conven- 
tion, the  next  act  in  the  work  of  the  party  3.  Appoint- 
machine  is  the  appointment  of   delegates  to  mentofDeie- 

1         ^  .  JUi  .       .        ,  ,0  1    gates  by  state 

the  Convention.     This  is  done  by  btate  and     and  District 

district  conventions.  Conventions. 

The  number  of  delegates  from  the  States  to  the 
National  Convention  is  as  follows :  Four  delegates-at-large 


156  Political  Parties  and  Party  Problems 

from  each  State, — that  is,  double  the  number  of  United 
States  Senators  to  which  the  State  is  entitled.  If  the 
Number  of  State  has  a  Congressman-at-large  in  the  Lower 
Delegates.  Housc,  two  more  delegates-at-large  are  added. 
Two  delegates  are  allotted  to  each  congressional  district 
of  the  State.  Thus  each  State  has  twice  as  many  dele- 
gates as  it  has  Senators  and  Representatives  in  Congress, 
or  twice  as  many  as  its  electoral  vote.  Delaware  has 
three  electoral  votes,  one  for  each  of  its  Senators  and  one 
for  its  Representative  in  Congress.  New  York  has  thirty- 
nine  electoral  votes,  two  for  its  Senators  ar.d  thirty  seven 
for  its  Representatives.  In  the  National  Conventions 
Delaware  has  six  delegates  and  New  York  seventy-eight. 
Before  1852  the  numbers  in  the  National  Conventions 
were  the  same  as  in  the  Electoral  College,  one  delegate 
for  each  elector.  For  twenty  years  after  1852,  in  the 
Democratic  Convention,  the  numbers  were  increased  to 
two  delegates  for  each  elector,  but  each  delegate  had  only 
half  a  vote.  In  1872  the  Democratic  Convention  gave 
each  delegate  a  whole  vote,  while  the  number  of  dele- 
gates remained  double  that  of  the  electors.  The  Repub- 
licans adopted  this  rule  of  membership  in  i860,  and  it 
has  been  the  rule  of  both  parties  since  1872.*  In  addition 
to  the  State  delegates,  two  delegates  have  usually  been 
allotted  to  each  of  the  Territories.     This  helps 

Territorial  ,  r      i-  t 

Representation  to  develop  party  feeling  and  party  strength  in 
in  the  National  the  Territories  in  anticipation  of  their  coming 

Convention.  ■'■  ° 

into  the  Union  as  States.  In  the  Democratic 
Convention  of  1896,  in  accordance  with  a  report  of  the 
Committee  on  Credentials,  the  Territorial  representation 
was  increased  from  two  to  six  delegates  for  each  Terri- 
tory, and  the  official  call  of  the  National  Republican 
Committee  in  1900  recommended  a  similar  increase  from 
the  Territories  for  that  party.  In  the  Republican  Con- 
vention the  Territorial  delegates  vote  as  other  delegates, 
*  Professor  Macy,  Chicago  Record,  Monday,  March  13,  1900. 


Composition  of  the  National  Convention  157 

but  in  the  Democratic  Convention  the  Territorial  dele- 
gates have  no  votes, — a  fact  which  again  indicates  the  dis- 
position of  the  Democratic  party  to  govern,  or  to  choose 
its  rulers  and  its  candidates,  by  the  action  of  States. 
The  Republican  call  for  1904  assigned  to  the  Territories 
of  Arizona,  New  Mexico,  Oklahoma,  Hawaii,  and  Indian 
Territory,  six  delegates  each ;  to  Alaska  four  delegates ; 
to  the  District  of  Columbia  two  delegates.  By  the  Reap- 
portionment Act  of  1901  the  membership  of  the  Electoral 
College  has  been  raised  from  447  to  476.  With  this 
increase  the  National  Republican  Convention  for  1904 
consisted  of  952  State  and  District  delegates  (twice  the 
vote  of  the  Electoral  College)  and  36  Territorial  dele- 
gates, making  a  convention  membership  of  988  in  all. 
The  Convention  of  1900  had  a  membership  of  size  of  the 
926.  Oklahoma,  which  will  participate  as  a  conventions. 
State  in  the  Convention  of  1908,  will  have  at  least  sixteen 
delegates,  which  will  raise  the  whole  number  close  to 
one  thousand.  In  addition  to  the  delegates  an  equal 
number  of  alternates  are  elected  to  act  in  case  of  the  ab- 
sence of  the  delegates.  The  alternates  are  elected  at  the 
same  time  and  in  the  same  manner  as  the  delegates ;  they 
sit  in  the  Convention  immediately  behind  the  delegates, 
and  act  as  delegates  in  case  their  principals  are  absent. 

The  delegates-at-large,  seldom  more  than  four  for  each 
State,  are  always  elected  by  the  State  convention  of  the 
party.  The  congressional  district  delegates  are  g^^  j^^j^^ 
selected  by  conventions  in  the  districts  called  gates  are 
by  the  congressional  committee  of  each   dis-  ®*^*®  ' 

trict,  in  the  manner  of  nominating  a  Congressman  from 
that  district.  Often  the  congressional  candidate  and  the 
national  delegates  are  named  at  the  same  district  conven- 
tion. The  Democratic  practice  is  usually  to  select  the 
national  delegates  by  the  delegations  from  each  congres- 
sional district  to  the  State  convention.  The  State  con- 
vention then  ratifies  the  selection  of  the  district  delegations 


158  Political  Parties  and  Party  Problems 

at  the  same  time  that  it  makes  the  choice  of  the  delegates- 

at-large  from  the  State.      The  delegation  is  then  more 

distinctly  recognized  as  a  State  delegation  and 

statehood  .  ,  ,  •  r^  .  . 

Recognized  in  IS  thereby  suDjcct  to  State  mstructions,  although 
the  Demo-      named,  in  the  first  instance,  in  separate  assem- 

cratic  Practice  ^ 

in  Selecting  blics  of  district  delegates.  This  is  consistent 
Delegates.  ^j^j^  ^^^  democratic  tendency  of  looking  to 
the  State  as  the  unit  in  party  action.  The  Whigs  very 
early  favored  the  choosing  of  delegates  by  congressional 
districts  "as  being  most  democratic  and  best  calculated 
to  bring  out  the  real  sentiments  of  the  people."  ^  In 
1892  the  Republican  Convention  passed  a  rule  obliging 
every  State  to  elect  its  delegates  by  districts.'  If  in  any 
congressional  district  there  is  no  congressional  committee, 
the  State  committee  of  the  party  either  calls  the  district 
convention,  appointing  the  time  and  place  of  meeting  and 
apportioning  delegates  to  the  different  counties ;  or  the 
State  committee  appoints  from  among  the  party  ad- 
herents resident  in  that  district  a  committee  for  the  pur- 
pose of  calling  a  district  convention  to  elect  delegates  to 
represent  the  district.  This  is  more  especially  true  of  the 
Republican  practice.'  The  Territorial  delegates  are  ap- 
pointed by  conventions  under  the  supervision  of  com- 
mittees appointed  by  the  National  Committee,  in  the 
manner  of  nominating  Territorial  delegates  for  Congress. 
If  the  election  of  any  of  the  delegates  is  contested,  all 
notices  of  contest  must  be  submitted  in  writing,  accom- 
Contested  panicd  by  a  printed  statement  setting  forth  the 
Seats  in  the  ground  of  contcst  to  be  filed  with  the  secretary 
Convention.  ^£  ^j^^  National  Committee  twenty  days  prior 
to  the  meeting  of  the  National  Convention.  These  papers 
relating  to  contested  delegations  are  then  presented  to  the 
Committee  on  Credentials  appointed  by  the  Convention, 
and  are  passed  upon  in  the  order  in  which  they  were  filed. 

*  See  Niles's  Register,  vol.  57,  p.  210.     Nov.  30,  1839. 

*  Macy,  Chicago  Record,  March  12,  1900. 
8  For  the  Democratic  practice,  see  p.  159. 


[   Composition  of  the  National  Convention  159 

The  district  plan  of  electing  the  delegates  is  compara- 
tively recent.  Formerly,  in  both  parties,  the  delegates 
for  the  whole  State  were  appointed  by  the  gen-  Rise  of  the 
eral  State  convention,  and   in   some  parts  of    District  pian 

1  •    11       •       -XT  Tr      T  1      1  of  Election. 

the  country,  especially  in  New  York  and  the  it  is  More 
Eastern  States,  this  is  still  the  custom  in  the  democratic. 
Democratic  party.  State  appointment  recognizes  the 
delegation  as  representing  the  State,  and  it  gives  greater 
power  and  prestige  to  the  State  as  such,  enables  it  to  act 
as  a  unit,  and  this  may  account  for  the  greater  favor  with 
which  it  is  met  in  the  Democratic  party,  as  that  is  the 
party  which  tends  more  to  advocate  and  defend  the 
powers  and  rights  of  the  States.  But  it  is  less  popular 
than  the  district  plan.  It  enables  a  shrewd  politician  in 
control  of  the  party  machinery  of  his  State,  and  who  is 
thereby  able  to  manipulate  the  State  convention  of  his 
party,  to  gain  larger  influence  and  power.  A  "snap  judg- 
ment "  may  be  more  easily  taken  as  against  the  wishes  of 
the  masses  of  the  party.  These  have  a  better  chance  to 
exert  their  influence  in  smaller  district  conventions. 

The  delegates  to  the  National  Conventions  are  usually 
active  party  men,  politicians  in  their  respective  districts 
who  give  a  good  deal  of  time  and  attention  to  character  of 
politics.  They  are  frequently  able  and  astute  *^«  Delegates, 
managers,  not  ofifice-seekers  always,  though  often  so,  but 
men  whose  services  to  the  party  entitle  them  to  some 
distinction  and  recognition.  The  delegates-at-large  are 
usually  men  of  State  or  national  reputation,  the  party 
leaders  of  the  State,  the  United  States  Senators,  or  men 
whose  renown  or  power  as  speakers  and  managers  will  give 
the  delegation  weight  and  influence  in  the  Convention. 

Of  recent  years  much  criticism  has  arisen  on  account  of 
the  presence  in  the  National  Convention  of  Office-Hoiders 
the  party  of  the  Administration,  of  Federal  ^to^N^bw 
office-holders.  It  is  alleged  that  these  Federal  Conventions, 
officers  exercise  an  undue  influence  in  controlling  polit- 


i6o  Political  Parties  and  Party  Problems 

ical  action  and  in  thus  retaining  in  power  their  party 
chieftain,  the  dispenser  of  their  salaries  and  patronage. 
This  is  an  obvious  impropriety  which  public  sentiment 
condemns.  The  party  managers,  in  conformity  with  this 
sentiment,  now  discourage  the  appointment  of  Federal 
office-holders  by  the  local  conventions.  Prior  to  the 
Republican  National  Convention  of  1900,  Hon.  Charles 
Dick,  secretary  of  the  Republican  National  Committee, 
received  a  letter  from  the  chairman  of  the  Republican 
State  Committee  of  Texas,  inquiring  whether  it  were 
true  that  Federal  office-holders  were  not  wanted  as 
national  delegates.     Mr.  Dick  replied  as  follows : 

' '  While  the  National  Committee  does  not  assume  to  interfere 
in  the  selection  of  delegates,  yet  in  order  to  avoid  adverse 
criticism,  it  is  deemed  advisable  that  so  far  as  practicable 
delegations  to  the  coming  National  Convention  should  be 
composed  of  men  not  holding  Federal  appointments.  There 
are,  of  course,  justifiable  exceptions  to  this  rule,  but  pubhc 
sentiment  dictates  that  Federal  officials  shall  not  be  too  promi- 
nently identified  with  the  management  of  political  conven- 
tions.'" 

Politicians  keep  their  hand  on  the  public  pulse  and 
they  know  how  the  public  feel. 

The  question  has  been  raised  in  late  years,  and  it  is 
especially  urged  upon  the  Republican  organization, 
whether  representation  in  a  National  Conven- 
fentetifnT"  tion  ought  not  to  be  in  proportion  to  party 
the  National  strength  within  a  State.  At  present  the  States 
to^BTAccord-  ^r^  represented  in  the  National  Convention  as 
ing  to  Party    they  are  represented  in  the  National  Congress, 

strength?    Is        .  \'         ^  i    ^-  t  t>  i_i- 

the  Present  — ^  proportion  to  population.  In  a  Republi- 
Representation  can  National  Convention  a  hopelessly  Demo- 

Equitable?  .     ^  ,  ,  .  ^       - 

cratic  State  has  the  same  voting  strength  as  a 
safe  Republican  State  of  the  same  population.     Georgia 

*  Hon.  Charles  Dick,  Secretary  Republican  National  Committee,  letter 
to  E.  H.  R.  Greene,  Feb.,  1900,  Chicago  Record,  Feb.  17,  1900. 


Composition  of  the  National  Convention  i6i 

casts  the  same  vote  in  nominating  the  Republican  candi- 
dates as  Iowa,  though  Iowa  is  quite  sure  to  contribute  to 
the  election  of  the  party  candidate  and  Georgia  is  equally- 
sure  not  to  do  so.  The  Republicans  of  Iowa  cast,  in  1900, 
307,000  votes,  while  the  Republicans  of  Georgia  cast  only 
35,000  votes.  For  the  party  candidate  in  1900  the  Re- 
publicans of  Ohio  cast  543,000  votes,  while  the  Repub- 
licans of  South  Carolina,  Mississippi,  and  Louisiana 
together  cast  23,565  votes.  In  a  National  Republican 
Convention,  Ohio  Republicans  may  cast  only  forty-six 
votes,  while  the  Republicans  from  these  three  Southern 
States  may  cast  fifty-two.  Why  should  not  the  voters  of 
the  party  who  are  to  be  relied  upon  to  elect  the  candidate 
be  allowed  to  determine  the  party  candidate  and  the 
party  policy?  Or,  why  should  they  not  have  weight  in 
doing  this  in  proportion  to  their  party  numbers,  in  pro- 
portion to  the  votes  which  they  cast  for  the  party  candi- 
dates? Party  conventions  within  the  States  recognize 
the  democratic  representative  principle.  The  different 
counties  of  the  State  are  represented  in  the  State  conven- 
tions of  the  party  in  proportion  to  party  numbers.  Party 
vote  in  the  counties,  not  population,  is  everywhere  rec- 
ognized as  the  true  basis  of  representation.  A  county  is 
allotted  one  delegate,  say,  for  every  two  hundred  votes 
(or  major  fraction  thereof)  cast  for  the  party  candidate  at 
the  head  of  the  ticket  at  the  last  preceding  election.  No 
one  questions  the  fairness  of  this  representation.  The 
late  Populist  party,  with  no  traditions  to  bind  it,  recog- 
nized the  new  popular  basis  of  representation  in  National 
Conventions.  It  allowed  that  each  State  should  appoint 
two  delegates-at-large,  and  then  one  for  every  two  thou- 
sand votes  cast  in  the  State  for  the  Populist 
electors  in  1892.  Thus  in  the  Populist  Con-  gationswere 
vention  of  1896,  Texas,  entitled  in  the  old  party  i^ationai,  Not 

1  .  t       1  1  Federal. 

conventions   to    thirty   votes,    had   one   hun- 
dred and  three  votes,  while  New  York  had  but  thirty- 


1 62  Political  Parties  and  Party  Problems 

six  votes.  Kansas  had  ninety-two  votes,  Connecticut 
but  six.  From  States  where  the  Populist  party  was 
strong  the  delegation  was  large.  This  would  tend  to 
secure  a  nomination  and  a  platform  not  by  States  but 
by  the  mass  of  the  voters  of  the  party.  By  this  plan 
the  party,  not  the  States,  makes  the  platform  and  the 
candidates. 

Why  should  the  same  system  not  apply  to  the  National 
Conventions  of  the  old  parties?  This  matter  came  up  in 
the  National  Republican  Committee  in  1883,  when  the 
committee  met  to  plan  for  the  National  Convention  of 
1884.  It  was  proposed  so  to  change  the  basis  of  repre- 
sentation as  to  increase  the  influence  of  States  giving 
Republican  majorities.     Two  propositions  were  made,  to : 

I.  Allow  each  State  (i)  four  delegates-at-large ;  (2)  one 
delegate  for  each  congressional  district ;  (3)  one  delegate 
Proposals  for  for  each  twelve  thousand  votes  cast  in  the  State 
an  Equitable    j^  1880  for  the  Republican  electoral  ticket. 

Basis  of 

Representa-  2.  Allow  cach  State  (i)  four  delegates-at- 
tion.  large ;  (2)  one  delegate-at-large  for  each  Repub- 

lican Senator  representing  the  State ;  (3)  one  delegate  for 
each  congressional  district ;  (4)  one  additional  delegate  for 
each  district  represented  in  Congress  by  a  Republican.* 

Both  these  propositions  were  rejected.  The  change 
was  again  urged,  this  time  by  Senator  Quay  of  Penn- 
sylvania, upon  the  National  Convention  of  1900.  Mr. 
Quay  moved  to  amend  the  rules  of  the  Convention  (when 
the  Committee  on  Rules  had  brought  in  its  report)  by 
providing 

"  that  hereafter  each  State  shall  be  entitled  to  four  delegates- 
at-large  and  one  additional  delegate  for  each  ten  thousand 
votes  or  majority  fraction  thereof  cast  at  the  last  preceding 
presidential  election  for  Republican  electors,  six  from  each 
Territory  and  District  of  Columbia;  and  that  the  method  for 

1  Stan  wood,  p.  421. 


Composition  of  the  National  Convention  163 

the  election  of  such  delegates  shall  be  provided  for  by  the 
National  Committee."  * 

Senator  Quay  submited  a  statement  showing  the  num- 
ber of  delegates  from  the  respective  States  on  the  present 
basis  as  compared  with  the  number  on  the  basis  proposed. 
A  few  items  will  illustrate  the  character  of  the  change ' : 


State 


New  York 

Pennsylvania . . 

Ohio 

Indiana 

Illinois 

Iowa 

Florida 

Georgia 

South  Carolina 

Alabama 

Mississippi . . . . 
Louisiana 


Republican 
Vote  in  1896. 


819,838 
728,300 
525,991 
323,754 
607,130 
289,293 

3,294,306 

11,288 
60,091 

9,281 
54,737 

5,130 
22,037 

162,564 


Delegates  on 

Present 

Representation, 


72 

64 
46 
30 
48 
26 

286 

8 
26 
18 
22 
18 
16 

io8 


Delegates  on 
Basis  I  for  each 

io,coo  Votes, 
with  four  Deie- 

gates-at-large 

for  each  State. 


86 
77 
57 
36 
65 
33 

354 

5 
10 

5 
9 
5 
6 

40 


In  the  first  group  of  six  Northern  States  the  aggregate 
Republican  vote  is  3,294,306.  These  States  under  the 
present  representation  have  a  voting  strength  in  the 
National  Convention  of  286;  under  the  new  plan  they 
would  have  354.  In  the  second  group  of  Southern  States 
the  aggregate  Republican  vote  is  162,564.  This  group 
now  has  108  delegates  in  the  National  Convention ;  under 
the  new  representation  they  would  have  but  40.     The 

*  Official  Proceedings  Republican  National  Convention,  Philadelphia, 
June  19-20,  1900. 

*  Official  Proceedings,  National  Republican  Convention,  1900,  p.  97, 


164  Political  Parties  and  Party  Problems 

two  groups,  instead  of  wielding  power  in  the  party  coun- 
cils in  the  proportion  of  108  to  286,  would  have  power  in 
proportion  of  40  to  354. 

The  proposal  of  Senator  Quay  was  not  pressed,  and 
nothing  was  done.  The  party  managers  are  reluctant  to 
make  the  change,  owing  to  the  seeming  importance  of 
maintaining  the  party  organization  in  the  Southern 
States.  It  is  urged  that  the  change  would  be  a  betrayal 
of  faithful  party  adherents  who  have  been  making  a  long 
and  losing  fight  against  odds ;  that  it  would  tend  to  en- 
courage the  party  where  it  is  strong,  where  it  needs  no 
special  encouragement,  and  to  discourage  it  where  it  is 
weak,  where  it  most  needs  encouragement;  that  the 
Southern  delegates  represent  not  only  those  who  vote  but 
those  whose  votes  are  suppressed  by  fraud  and  violence 
or  under  the  forms  of  law.  The  fact  is,  the  parties  are 
not  organized  on  national  lines.  They  still  recognize,  in 
their  organization  and  management,  the  interests  and 
rights  of  the  States  as  such  and  their  early  customs  and 
traditions,  under  which  certain  "rights  "  or  expectations 
have  grown  up,  are  hard  to  change.  Parties  in  their  form 
or  constitution  are  like  the  Government, — they  are  partly 
federal  and  partly  national,  and  in  their  early  organiza- 
tion they  took  on  features  corresponding  to  the  Federal 
system.  But  this  disparity  of  influence  may  not  long 
continue  in  the  Republican  party. 


CHAPTER  XI 

THE  RISE   OF  THE  CONVENTION  SYSTEM 

AFTER  the  National   Committee  has  appointed  the 
time  and  place  for  the  National  Convention  and 
issued  the  call,  and  the  State  and  district  com-  ^j^^ 

mittees  have  called  conventions,  and  these  have         National 
appointed  delegates,  the  next  step  in  the  pro- 
cess of  President-making  is  in  the  action  of  the  National 
Convention. 

In  approaching  the  study  of  this  most  important  his- 
toric institution  of  American  parties  it  may  be  well  to 
note  how  customs  have  changed  in  making  party  nomi- 
nations. We  must  trace  the  evolution  of  the  presidential 
convention.* 

The  origin  of  any  institution  is  always  remote.  The 
beginnings  of  the  nominating  caucus  and  convention  in 
America  have  been  traced  from  colonial  records  in  colonial 
as  far  back  as  1640.'  In  early  American  society  '^^^*>^  ^°™- 
there  was  a  ruling  class,  especially  in  New  Eng-  Made  by  a 
land  and  in  Virginia, — that  is  to  say,  groups  of  Gentry, 

men  who,  owing  to  their  character,  their  wealth,  and  their 
social  position,  commanded  the  confidence  of  their  fel- 
low-citizens."    This  was  a  class  something  like  a  landed 

'  See  M.  Ostrogorski's  "  The  Rise  and  Fall  of  the  Nominating  Caucus, 
Legislative  and  Congressional,"  American  Historical  Review,  Jan.,  1900. 

'  See  Professor  Howard's  Local  Constitutional  History  of  the  United 
States. 

'  Ostrogorski. 

165 


1 66  Political  Parties  and  Party  Problems 

gentry.  Their  leadership  was  accepted  without  question. 
Nominations  were  made  by  a  coterie  or  clique  of  these 
leading  citizens.  These  "parlor  caucuses,"  as  they  were 
called,  put  forward  candidates  for  the  town  or  colony,  and 
their  candidates  were  accepted  by  the  people.  The  Liv- 
ingstons, Schuylers,  and  Clintons  governed  New  York ;  a 
few  rich  merchants,  according  to  John  Adams,  could  carry 
any  election  in  Massachusetts;  the  Virginia  gentlemen, 
the  rich  plantation-owners,  governed  that  Colony.'  The 
formal  nominations  were  made  in  town  meetings  or 
county  meetings,  but  these  gatherings  usually  merely 
ratified  selections  already  made  by  a  caucus  of  the  lead- 
ing citizens  to  whom  the  mass-meeting  deferred.  The 
suffrage  was  then  much  more  restricted  than  now,  and  it 
was  not  possible  for  all  the  citizenship  to  take  part  in 
political  action.  "To  nominate  candidates  for  elective 
offices  which  went  beyond  the  limits  of  the  county,  the 
views  of  the  inhabitants  of  the  various  counties  were  often 
ascertained  by  means  of  a  very  extensive  correspondence. 
Circulars  were  sent  out,  replies  received,  and  lists  of  can- 
didates were  made  up  from  these  replies.  These  consul- 
tations were  led  by  a  few  public-spirited  men  with  a  taste 
for  election  work,  who  made  themselves  into  a  commit- 
tee of  correspondence  for  this  purpose.'  These  practices 
continued  for  some  time  after  the  adoption  of  the  Consti- 
tution. During  this  period,  then,  there  were  two  ways 
by  which  candidates  were  brought  out : 

1.  They  were  named  by  this  self-selected  caucus,  or 
junto,  of  leading  men,  whose  nominations  were  generally 
accepted. 

2.  A  candidate  might  announce  himself  and  appeal 
for  support  on  the  ground  of  the  principles  and  poli- 
cies which  he  advocated,  or  of  his  fitness  for  the  office. 

*  See  Ford's  Rise  and  Growth  of  American  Politics y  p.  lo,  citing  John 
Adams's  Works,  vol.  vi.,  p.  506. 

•  Ostrogorski. 


The  Rise  of  the  Convention  System    167 

Occasionally  certain  delegate  bodies  named  a  ticket,  but 
these  bodies  were  irregular  and  without  authority. 

The  next  step  in  the  development  of  the  nominating 
system  is  to  be  seen  in  the  Congressional  and  xhe  Congres- 
Legislative  Caucus.  In  the  election  of  Jeffer- s^°°*^^*"<^"«- 
son,  in  1800,  party  lines  were  for  the  first  time  distinctly 
drawn. 

"As  the  democratic  spirit  grew,"  says  Mr.  Bryce,  **the 
people  would  no  longer  acquiesce  in  self-appointed 
chiefs."  Party  members  of  State  legislatures  began  to 
be  recognized  as  the  proper  persons  to  make  nominations 
for  the  State  offices,  and  party  members  of  Congress  to 
nominate  the  national  candidates.  Each  party  held  a 
congressional  caucus  to  nominate  candidates  of  that  party 
for  the  presidency  and  vice-presidency,  and  each  party  in 
the  State  legislature  held  a  caucus  to  name  the  party  can- 
didates for  governor  and  other  State  offices.  This  con- 
gressional and  legislative  caucus  was  a  perfectly  natural 
development,  an  outgrowth  of  the  sentiment  and  condi- 
tions of  the  times.  For  a  territory  so  large  as  a  State  it 
was  not  easy  to  secure  a  general  meeting  which  would  be 
representative  of  all  the  different  localities.  A  journey 
to  the  State  capital  was  a  formidable  undertaking,  and  it 
was  difficult  to  find  men  of  leisure  willing  to  leave  their 
homes  and  make  a  hard  journey  merely  for  the  sake  of  a 
temporary  duty.  Party  representatives  as  members  of 
the  legislature  were  already  at  the  capital.  These  would 
know  better  than  any  one  else  who  were  best  qualified 
for  the  offices  and  what  candidates  could  command  the 
most  votes.  Therefore,  the  members  of  both  Houses 
belonging  to  the  same  party  met  semi-officially,  generally 
in  the  legislative  building  itself,  made  their  selections, 
and  communicated  them  to  the  voters  by  means  of  a 
proclamation,  which  they  signed  individually.  Some- 
times other  signatures  of  well-known  citizens  who  hap- 
pened to  be  in  the  capital  at  the  time  were  added,  to  give 


1 68  Political  Parties  and  Party  Problems 

more  weight  to  the  recommendation  of  the  legislators.* 
John  Jay  was  proposed  in  this  way  as  the  Federalist  can- 
didate for  governor  of  New  York.  After  1796,  it  appears 
to  be  the  settled  practice  in  all  the  States. 

As  in  the  States  the  legislative  caucus  arose  to  nomi- 
nate the  governor,  lieutenant-governor,  and  the  presiden- 
tial electors  (where  these  were  chosen  by  popular  vote), 
so  in  the  national  arena,  the  congressional  caucus  arose  to 
nominate  to  the  presidency  and  the  vice-presidency.  In 
the  first  two  presidential  elections,  of  1789  and  1792,  the 
choice  of  candidates  was  by  general  consent.  In  1796,  in 
spite  of  some  intrigue  against  him,  John  Adams  was 
elected  by  the  free  and  independent  choice  of  the  presi- 
dential electors,  without  a  previous  nomination.  In  the 
election  of  1800,  the  first  party  contest,  the  party  mem- 
bers of  Congress  who  had  previously  caucused — that  is, 
conferred — on  policies  and  measures,  now  reached  out  to 
effect  the  presidential  nominations,  and  thus  to  control 
the  choice  of  the  voters.  Jefferson  was  accepted  by  the 
Republican  caucus  as  a  matter  of  course.  The  Federalist 
caucus  was  the  first  of  the  two,  and  it  was  held  in  secret 
for  the  purpose  of  circumventing  Jefferson's  election,  and 
thus  preventing  the  triumph  of  Democratic  radicalism. 
The  Republicans  denounced  this  as  a  "Jacobinical  con- 
clave," though  they  also  held  their  caucus  in  secret.  In 
1804,  the  caucus  reappeared  among  the  Republicans,  but 
it  was  no  longer  held  in  secret. 

"The  Federalists,  who  were  almost  annihilated  as  a  party  by 
Jefferson's  victory  in  1800,  gave  up  holding  caucuses  alto- 
gether. Henceforth  there  met  only  a  Republican 
the  Congres-  Congressional  caucus  which  appeared  on  the  scene 
sionai  Nomi-  every  four  years  at  the  approach  of  the  presiden- 
nating  Caucus,  ^.^j  election.  To  strengthen  itself  in  the  country 
it  provided  itself  (in  181 2),  with  a  special  organ  in  the  form 

*  Ostrogorski,  American  Historical Remew,  Jan.,  igcx),  p.  257. 


The  Rise  of  the  Convention  System    169 

of  a  corresponding  committee,  in  which  each  State  was  repre- 
sented by  a  member  and  which  saw  that  the  decisions  of  the 
caucus  were  respected.  Sometimes  the  State  caucuses  inter- 
vened in  the  nominations  of  candidates  for  the  presidency; 
they  proposed  names,  but  in  any  event  the  congressional 
caucus  always  had  the  last  word.  Thus  in  1808,  with  two 
powerful  competitors  for  the  succession  to  Jefferson,  Madison 
and  Monroe,  both  put  forward  in  the  influential  caucus  of 
Virginia,  the  congressional  caucus  pronounced  for  Madison 
while  taking  the  formal  precaution  to  declare  that  the  persons 
present  made  this  recommendation  in  their  '  private  capacity 
as  citizens. '  Several  members  of  Congress  who  did  not  favor 
Madison  appealed  to  the  country,  protesting  not  only  against 
the  regularity  of  the  procedure  of  the  caucus,  but  against  the 
institution  of  the  caucus  itself.  The  caucus,  none  the  less, 
won  the  day,  the  whole  party  in  the  country  accepted  its  de- 
cision, and  Madison  was  elected."  * 

From  this  time  on  the  congressional  caucus  grew  into 
disfavor,  though  it  continued  to  make  presidential  nomina- 
tions until  1824.  In  the  latter  year,  however,  its  candi- 
date, William  H.  Crawford  of  Georgia,  was  not  accepted 
by  the  rank  and  file,  and  he  came  out  third  in  the  list  of 
candidates.  The  revolt  against  the  caucus  became  quite 
positive  as  early  as  1 812, when  the  New  York  Legislature 
brought  out  DeWitt  Clinton,  a  Jeffersonian  Republican, 
against  Madison,  the  regular  candidate,  with  a  protest 
against  the  working  of  the  caucus.  It  was  urged  against 
the  caucus  that  the  Constitution-makers  were  Ground  of 
very  careful  to  provide  that  Congress  should   Unpopularity 

1  1        -o        .  t  •       .  of  the 

not  elect  the  President;  now  a  party  majority  congressional 
of  Congressmen  were  doing  so,  and  they  had  caucus, 

gone  so  far  as  to  do  so  in  a  secret  caucus.  The  people 
were  to  elect  the  President,  not  as  they  elect  their  repre- 
sentatives, nor  through  these  representatives,  but  by  the 
States  in  their  separate,  sovereign  capacity.    A  coterie  of 

*  Ostrogorski,  American  Historical  Review^  Jan.,  1900,  pp.  261,  262, 


I70  Political  Parties  and  Party  Problems 

Congressmen  had  usurped  a  function  belonging  to   the 
people  of  the  States. 

In  1816,  when  the  caucus  met  again,  Clay  proposed  a 
motion  declaring  that  a  caucus  nomination  was  inexpe- 
dient. The  motion  was  rejected.  When  Monroe  was 
nominated  Clay  moved  to  make  the  nomination  unani- 
mous.* The  caucus  fell  into  further  disfavor  this  year 
from  the  fact  that  Crawford,  whom  the  people  had  never 
thought  of  for  the  presidency,  came  very  near  to  secur- 
ing the  caucus  nomination.  Monroe  was  nominated  by 
only  eleven  votes.  The  caucus  candidates  had  always 
been  the  recognized  leaders  of  the  party  and  had  repre- 
sented fairly  well  the  political  sense  of  the  people.  But 
when  it  was  suggested  that  a  political  manipulator  like 
Crawford,  whom  the  rank  and  file  did  not  look  upon  as 
a  fit  man  for  the  presidency,  might  become  the  caucus 
nominee,  opposition  to  the  caucus  was  still  further  in- 
creased. The  caucus  candidate  was  looked  upon  as  the 
"regular"  party  candidate,  and  the  caucus  influence 
tended  to  urge  upon  the  people  the  idea  that  its  decision 
was  binding  in  honor  upon  all  the  adherents  of  the  party. 
Democratic  doctrines  had  come  in  with  Jefferson,  and  it 
was  now  urged  by  the  opponents  of  the  caucus  that  Demo- 
cratic practices  and  customs  should  come  in  too.  A  mem- 
ber of  Congress  expressed  the  public  feeling  as  follows  in 
1814: 

**  The  members  of  the  two  Houses  meet  in  caucus  and  there 
ballot  for  President  and  Vice-President.  This  modest  recom- 
mendation then  comes  before  the  legislatures  of  the  States. 
These  may  elect  the  electors,  or  make  out  a  list  for  the  people 
to  elect.  So  the  Chief  Magistrate  of  the  nation  owes  his  office 
principally  to  aristocratic  intrigue,  cabal,  and  management. 
Pre-existing  bodies  of  men,  not  the  people,  make  the  appoint- 
ment.    These  bodies  are  naturally  directed  by  a  few  leaders 

*  Niles's  Register y  vol.  x.,  p.  59. 


The  Rise  of  the  Convention  System    171 

whose  talents,  boldness,  or  activity  give  them  ascendancy 
over  their  associates.  These  leaders  are  accessible  to  cor- 
ruption." ^ 

This  Democratic  opposition  to  the  aristocratic  caucus 
found  its  most  complete  development  in  the  new  West. 
The  West  had  no  past,  no  traditions.  It  wsls  The  Demo- 
permeated  with  the  spirit  of  equality.     Its  pio-      ^ratic  West 

1.  1.        ^  11        1-1  •  /  Fosters  Oppo- 

neer  home-hunters  were  all  alike,  m  antece-  sitiontothe 
dents,  habits,  and  conditions.     These  people  caucus, 

had  been  taught  that  they  were  the  sovereigns,  the 
rulers,  in  America ;  they  should  know  no  superiors.  The 
sovereign  people  were  not  in  need  of  the  intelligence  of  a 
superior  class, — there  was  no  such  class.  So-called  lead- 
ing citizens,  whether  in  official  or  in  private  life,  should 
no  longer  dictate  to  the  people  the  choice  of  their  repre- 
sentatives or  their  candidates  for  President.  Jackson  as 
a  candidate,  the  idol  and  champion  of  the  people,  was  the 
embodiment  of  this  feeling.  Jackson  "was  brought  for- 
ward by  the  masses,"  as  Benton  expressed  it.  With  the 
official  caucus,  with  the  leaders  who  presumed  to  deter- 
mine the  people's  choice,  Jackson  would  have  no  chance; 
but  the  people  would  elect  him  of  their  own  accord. 
Jackson's  influence,  therefore,  and  the  Western  Democ- 
racy behind  him,  urged  on  the  opposition  to  the  caucus. 
Niles  said  in  1824: 

'  *  I  would  rather  that  the  sovereignty  of  the  States  should  be 
re-transferred  to  England  than  that  the  people  should  be 
bound  to  submit  to  the  dictates  of  such  an  assemblage.  But 
the  people  will  not  succumb  to  office  hunters.  .  .  .  The 
great  mass  of  the  American  people  feel  that  they  are  able  to 
judge  for  themselves;  they  do  not  want  a  master  to  direct  them 
how  they  shall  vote."  * 

The  caucus  was  made  to  appear  not  only  as  an  encroach- 

*  Speech  of  Gaston,  Annals  of  Congress,  Jan.,  1814,  cited  by  Ostro- 
gorski.  2  Niles,  vol.  xxi.,  p.  338,  January  26,  1822. 


172  Political  Parties  and  Party  Problems 

ment  on  the  sovereignty  of  the  people,  but  as  especially 
alarming  in  that  its  functions  were  exercised  in  the  at- 
mosphere of  executive  patronage.  *  *  Make  me  President,  *  * 
a  candidate  might  say,  "and  I  '11  make  you  Secretary,  or 
provide  you  a  good  berth."  Thus  the  President  and 
Congress,  who  were  intended  by  the  wise  framers  of  the 
Constitution  to  act  as  checks  upon  one  another,  act  in 
collusion  against  the  spirit  of  the  Constitution.^  Before 
the  election  of  1824  came  on,  presidential  candidates  were 
brought  out  by  the  various  States.  Nominations  were 
made  by  resolutions  of  State  legislatures.  In  as  many  as 
twelve  States,  by  1824,  the  action  of  the  congressional 
caucus  had  been  anticipated  in  this  way.  The  friends  of 
all  the  candidates  except  those  of  Crawford  resolved  to 
take  no  part  in  the  caucus.  If  they  attended  they  would 
be  bound,  according  to  the  unwritten  law  of  the  caucus, 
to  abide  by  its  decision  and  support  its  candidate.  Two 
thirds  of  the  Republican  members  of  Congress  refused  to 
meet  in  caucus.  But  Crawford's  partisans  persisted  in 
having  one.  It  was  held  February  14,  1824,  in  the  hall 
of  Congress.  Out  of  two  hundred  and  sixteen  members 
summoned,  sixty-six  responded  to  the  call.  Crawford 
was  unanimously  nominated,  but  instead  of  strengthen- 
ing him  this  endorsement  probably  weakened  him  before 
the  people.  With  Crawford's  defeat  "King  Caucus  was 
dethroned,"  and  no  effort  was  ever  made  to  restore  this 
king  to  favor  and  power  after  1824. 

Before  leaving  this  subject  we  must  note  what  is  known 
as  the  "mixed"  caucus.  It  happened  in  the  legisla- 
The  Mixed  tivc  caucus,  which  was  composed  of  the  party 
Caucus.  members  of  the  legislature,  that  the  districts  in 

which  the  party  was  in  a  minority  were  left  unrepresented ; 
yet  decisions  were  made  which  bound  the  party  in  the 
whole  State.  This  was  a  serious  defect.  Those  districts 
in  the  State  which  sent  Federalist  representatives  to  the 

*  King's  attack  on  the  caucus.     See  Ostrogorski. 


The  Rise  of  the  Convention  System    1 7z 

assembly  were  wholly  unrepresented  in  the  Republican 
caucus,  while  Republican  districts  were  unrepresented  in 
the  Federalist  caucus.  Consequently  the  custom  grew 
up,  to  some  extent,  of  admitting  to  the  caucus  delegates 
elected  by  the  members  of  the  party  in  the  districts  which 
had  no  representatives  of  the  party  in  the  legislature. 
Thus  a  popular  element  was  introduced  into  the  caucus, 
not  from  the  feeling  that  it  was  usurping  popular  rights, 
but  because  it  did  not  provide  for  fair  and  complete  rep- 
resentation. These  general  conventions  were  held  as 
early  as  1807.*  The  mixed  caucus  was  destined  to  give 
way  to  the  pure  convention. 

The  period  from  1824  to  1832  was  a  period  of  transition 
from  the  congressional  caucus  to  the  National  Nominat- 
ing Convention.  In  this  period  nominations  Period  of 
were  made  in  a  variety  of  ways, — by  State  lee^is-       Transition 

.    ^  u  \'  u  from  the 

latures,  by  mass-meetmgs,  by  newspaper  an-  caucus  to  the 
nouncements,  and  by  a  general  concurrence  of  Convention, 
party  meetings  and  agencies.  A  nomination  made  in 
one  State  would  be  seconded  in  another,  and  if  named  in 
different  parts  of  the  country  and  in  a  sufficient  number 
of  places,  the  nominee  would  be  regarded  as  one  of  the 
leading  candidates.  The  Anti-Masonic  Convention  of 
1830  was  the  first  delegate  National  Conven- 

.  ,      ,         ^  r  .  The  First 

tion  and  the  first  to  arrange  for  a  convention  National 
in   which   representation    should  be  based  on     Nominating 

*■  .  .  -.  .  Convention. 

the  representation  of  the  respective  States  in 
the  National  Congress.  From  that  day  to  this,  while  the 
National  Convention  has  changed  in  many  minor  ways, 
in  the  number  of  delegates,  in  the  manner  of  electing 
these,  in  its  rules  of  procedure,  the  fundamental  principle 
on  which  it  is  based  has  remained  the  same,  namely,  the 

*  *'  Pennsylvania  Politics  Early  in  this  Century,"  W.  M.  Meigs,  Pennsyl- 
vania Magazine  of  History  and  Biography,  vol.  xvii.,  1894,  cited  by  Ostro- 
gorski  ;  also  "The  Development  of  the  Nominating  Convention  in  Rhode 
Island,"  by  Neil  Andrews. 


174  Political  Parties  and  Party  Problems 

democratic  representation  of  the  party  constituency. 
The  old  congressional  caucus  was  tinged  with  aristoc- 
ratism.  The  parties  demanded  an  organization  wherein 
each  voter  should  have  "an  equal  share  in  determining 
his  party  candidate  and  his  party  platform."  *  This  or- 
ganization was  completed  for  the  Democratic  party  about 
1835  ;  for  the  Whigs  only  a  few  years  later.  This  is  one 
of  the  results  of  the  democratization  of  the  country  under 
Jackson.*  All  parties  since  have  organized  and  developed 
on  the  same  lines. 

"  The  essential  feature  of  this  convention  system  is  that  it 
is  from  top  to  bottom  strictly  representative.  This  is  because 
it  has  power,  and  power  can  flow  only  from  the  people.  The 
permanent  part  of  the  party  organization,  the  committee  sys- 
tem that  exists  for  the  purpose  of  conducting  the  campaign  and 
carrying  the  election  and  calling  the  next  convention,  has  no 
power.  Its  object  is  to  manage  party  business,  such  as  is  left 
to  voluntary  agencies.  These  committees  undertake  to  create 
and  stimulate  opinion.  But  when  a  party  policy  or  a  party 
candidate  is  to  be  chosen  and  the  party  is  to  command  a 
course  of  action  which  the  members  of  the  party  are  expected 
to  obey, —  such  action  must  be  taken  by  a  representative 
body.'" 

Whether  or  not  the  Convention  is  actually  representa- 
tive depends  upon  the  activity  of  the  party  members  in 
their  local  primaries.  A  clique  of  politicians  in  the  sev- 
eral districts  and  States  may  manipulate  the  local  conven- 
tions and  thus  in  the  source  of  the  appointing  power  the 
National  Convention  may  not  be  representative  of  the 
voting  constituency,  but  the  delegates  so  appointed  may 
reflect  for  the  sake  of  success  in  the  election  the  public 
sentiment  and  desire  of  the  party,  and  in  this  sense  the 
Convention  may  be  representative. 

*  Bryce,  vol.  ii.,  p.  80. 

'  See  the  Author's  TheAmerican  Republic  and  Its  Government^  p.  131. 

*  Bryce,  vol.  ii.,  p.  80. 


CHAPTER  XII 

THE  NATIQNAL  CONVENTION  OF  TO-DAY 

WE  come  now  to  consider  the  Convention  as  we  find 
it  to-day.  The  National  Convention  is  peculiar 
to  America.  No  other  country  in  the  world  ^j^^  conven- 
offers  a  parallel  to  it.  It  is  the  outgrowth  of  tion  as  it  is 
the  effort  of  a  democratic  society  to  attain  to  a  °"  *^' 

complete  representative  scheme  for  a  popular  choice  of 
its  ruler. 

**  No  other  country  provides  in  its  party  life  for  any  gather- 
ings comparable  in  size,  interest,  and  representative  character 
with  our  quadrennial  National  Conventions.  The  meetings  of 
the  National  Liberal  Federations  in  England  alone  approach 
the  Republican  and  Democratic  Conventions  of  the  United 
States.  But  the  English  gatherings  are  not  nearly  so  large  and 
popular,  nor  do  they  possess  any  of  the  dramatic  interest  that 
grows  out  of  the  rivalry  of  leaders  and  candidates. 
Train-loads  of  the  most  energetic  members  of  the  parties  come 
from  every  direction.     Larere  continerents  from  New 

T-       1        •.         •       1  -1  1        •        •      r         1       n       /•  The  National 

h^nglana  mingle  with  enthusiastic  hundreds  from  convention  an 
the  Pacific  Coast.  Scores  of  thousands  of  visitors,  Historic  Spec- 
actually  drawn  from  every  State,  Territory,  and 
congressional_^district  in  the  Union,  make  the  convention  city 
for  the  time  the  political  centre  and  capital  of  the  nation. 
The  greatness  and  homogeneity  of  the  country, — this  is  the 
object-lesson.  Here  is  the  real  representative  body  of  the 
nation, — seven  or  eight  million  voting  citizens  assembled  in 


176  Political  Parties  and  Party  Problems 

a  representative  folkmote.  The  perfect  acquiescence  of  these 
great  conventions  in  the  will  of  the  majority  exemplifies  the 
strength  of  popular  government.  The  conventions  have  come 
to  be  one  of  the  finest  and  most  valuable  parts  of  our  working 
political  machinery.  .  .  .  It  is  not  strange  that  the  old 
party  war-horses,  scenting  the  battle  from  afar,  cannot  stay 
away  from  National  Conventions.  The  student  of  history  who 
finds  himself  a  spectator  in  one  of  these  mighty  throngs, — so 
demonstrative  and  impetuous,  yet  so  good-humored  and  so 
well-disciplined  in  the  school  of  democracy,  can  but  think 
back  along  the  course  of  Anglo-Saxon  development,  past  the 
assemblage  at  Runnymede  to  the  earlier  days  of  folkmotes  in 
the  forests  of  our  race's  primitive  home.  Thus  confidence  in 
free  government  is  strengthened,  and  faith  in  the  saving  sense 
of  our  English-speaking  masses  is  revived."  * 

Mr.  Bryce  says  of  the  Convention : 

"A  European  is  astonished  to  see  nine  hundred  men  pre- 
pare to  transact  the'  two  most  difficult  pieces  of  business  which 
an  assembly  can  undertake, — the  solemn  consideration  of  their 
principles  and  the  selection  of  the  person  they  wish  to  place  at 
the  head  of  the  nation,  in  the  sight  and  hearing  of  twelve 
thousand  other  men  and  women."  " 

American  politics  does  not  offer  the  student  and  ob- 
server a  more  interesting  and  exciting  spectacle  than  may 
be  witnessed  in  the  National  Conventions.  They  have 
been  the  scenes  of  many  dramatic  and  historic  events,  and 
their  proceedings  are  well  worthy  of  the  student  and 
the  historian  of  politics.  The  Conventions  of  i860  were 
especially  notable.  The  fierceness  of  the  party  contest, 
the  extreme  tension  of  political  feeling  on  the  burning 
question  of  slavery  in  the  Territories,  the  irreconcilable 
differences  between  the  Northern  and  Southern  wings 
of  the  Democratic  party,  and  the  probability  that  the 

^  American  Review  of  Reviews,  July,  1892,  *  Vol.  ii.,  p.  193. 


The  National  Convention  of  To-Day  177 

threatened  schism  in  the  Democratic  party  on  the  slavery 
question  could  not  be  averted,  and  that  the  new  Repub- 
lican party,  by  the  division  of  its  opponents,  might  be 
able  to  secure  control  of  the  National  Government, — this 
situation  gave  intense  interest  to  the  conventions  of  that 
year.  At  the  Charleston  Convention,  where  the  Democ- 
racy of  the  nation  were  assembled  in  the  persons  of  their 
representative  delegates,  a  heated  and  passionate  debate 
was  had  on  the  proposed  platform  of  principles.  This 
was  a  time  when  the  platform,  not  the  candidate,  was  the 
chief  subject  of  controversy  and  division,  except  as  the 
candidacy  of  Mr.  Douglas  embodied  the  platform.  This 
is  true  also  of  the  Democratic  Convention  of  1896.  Such 
a  situation  generally  indicates  a  lack  of  unity  and  har- 
mony in  the  party,  and  may  not  give  fair  promise  of 
party  success ;  but  it  is  usually  indicative  of  a  sound  and 
healthy  state  of  politics,  because  the  party  struggles  for 
the  approval  of  principles  are  indicative  of  deep  and  stir- 
ring political  convictions  among  the  people. 

The  preliminary  arrangements  for  the  Convention  are 
entrusted  to  an  executive  committee  of  the  National 
Committee.     This  committee  of  arrangements 

.    -       ^  .  ,     The  National 

elects  a  sergeant-at-arms  of  the  Convention,  and  convention, 
to  him  is  entrusted  the  duty  of  superintending        t^«  p*"®- 

,      .    ,  ,  .         .  r  liminaries. 

the  printing  of  tickets,  the  organization  of  a 

force  to  act  as  assistants,  ushers,  and  pages  to  seat  the 

people  and  to  maintain  order  during  the  sessions  of  the 

Convention. 

The  National  Convention  is  called  to  order  by  the 
Chairman  of  the  National  Committee.  The  proceedings 
are  opened  with  prayer.     The  National  Chair- 

t  ,         r     %-  r     1        ^  .        Call  to  Order. 

man  then  asks  the  Secretary  of  the  Commit- 
tee to  read  the  call  of  the  National  Committee  by  which 
the  assembly  is  convened.     The  Committee   Chairman 
then  immediately  announces  to  the  Convention  the  name 
of  the  temporary  presiding  officer,  previously  chosen  by 


i;^  Political  Parties  and  Party  Problems 

the  National  Committee.  This  nomination  is  usually 
accepted  by  the  Convention  without  contest  or  division. 
Choice  of  ^^  there  is  opposition,  however,  any  delegate  is 
Temporaxy      entitled  to  placc  another  name  before  the  Con- 

airman.  ycntion  and  call  for  a  vote ;  or  some  one  may 
do  so  as  the  representative  of  the  minority  of  the  National 
Committee.  In  the  Democratic  Convention  at  Chicago 
in  1896  the  majority  of  the  National  Committee,  being 
Gold  men,  nominated  Senator  David  B.  Hill  of  New 
York  for  temporary  chairman.  The  majority  of  the  dele- 
gates were  opposed  to  this  nomination,  and  it  was  desired 
by  the  Silver  men,  who  were  in  the  majority,  to  con- 
trol the  Convention  from  the  outset.  Consequently  it 
was  moved  that  the  name  of  Senator  Daniel  of  Virginia 
be  substituted  for  that  of  Senator  Hill,  and  the  substitute 
motion  was  carried  by  a  large  majority.  The  Silver 
men  were  not  willing  to  concede  the  temporary  presid- 
ing officer  to  the  Gold  Democrats,  not  because  that 
officer  was  important  or  might  be  influential  in  defeating 
the  ultimate  purpose  of  the  majority  of  the  Convention, 
but  his  selection  would  have  had  a  moral  influence  in  the 
country  at  large  and  would  have  indicated  a  willingness 
to  yield  and  compromise  on  the  issue.  The  Convention, 
it  was  held,  must  be  in  the  hands  of  the  undoubted 
friends  of  the  cause. 

After  the  temporary  chairman  is  selected  he  addresses 
the  Convention  in  a  formal  speech  on  public  measures 
and  on  the  political  situation.  Following  his  speech 
other  prominent  men  are  likely  to  be  called  out  for  brief 
speeches.  These  calls  are  informal  and  are  not  a  part  of 
the  regular  order  of  procedure.  The  chairman  then  an- 
nounces that  until  a  permanent  organization  is  effected 
the  Convention  will  be  governed  by  the  rules  of  the 
preceding  Convention.  After  the  speeches  of  the  tem- 
porary chairman  and  others,  some  delegate  may  offer  a 
resolution  like  the  following : 


The  National  Convention  of  To-Day  1 79 

"Resolved,  That  the  roll-call  of  States  and  Territories 
be  now  called  and  that  the  chairman  of  each  delegation 
announce  the  names  of  the  persons  selected  to  Appointment 
serve  on  the  several  committees  as  follows :        ®'  Committer. 

**  Permanent  Organization. 

**  Rules  and  Order  of  Business. 

"Credentials. 

"Resolutions." 

These  committees,  on  a  roll-call  of  States,  are  then 
named,  not  by  the  Chairman,  but  by  the  respective  State 
delegations,  one  member  from  each  State  and  Territory 
going  on  each  committee.  With  the  appointment  of 
these  committees  the  first  session  of  the  Convention  is 
at  an  end. 

During  the  recess  of  the  Convention  the  committees  are 
at  work.  The  Committee  on  Credentials  is  hearing  the 
evidence  and  pleas  in  the  cases  of  contested  Recess  of  the 
seats,  for  this  committee  must  report,  at  the  convention, 
next  session  if  possible,  as  to  what  delegates  are  entitled 
to  sit  and  vote  in  the  Convention.  Few  conventions  meet 
in  which  difficult  contests  do  not  come  up  for  decision, — 
cases  in  which  "politics  "  and  sharp  practice  play  impor- 
tant parts.  The  Committee  on  Resolutions  has  long  and 
late  sessions,  perfecting  the  platform  to  be  reported  to  the 
Convention.  The  Committee  on  Permanent  Organization 
must  report  a  list  of  permanent  officers  for  the  Conven- 
tion, and  the  Committee  on  Rules  a  set  of  rules  to  guide 
the  assembly. 

At  the  second  session  of  the  Convention  the  first  busi- 
ness in  regular  order  is  the  report  of  the  Committee  on 
Credentials.     If  this  committee  is  not  ready  to  second 

report  it  will  probably  ask  for  leave  to  sit  con-  Session, 

tinuously  until  it  completes  its  labors.  The  Convention 
cannot  proceed  with  its  business  until  it  is  decided  who 
has  a  right  to  take  part  in  its  proceedings,  and  after  the 
permanent  organization  is  effected  the  Convention  may 


i8o  Political  Parties  and  Party  Problems 

have  to  adjourn  from  time  to  time  to  await  the  conclusion 
of  the  Credentials  Committee.  But  the  delay  of  this 
committee  in  reporting  does  not  postpone  the  perma- 
nent organization.  This  may  be  effected  under  the  presi- 
dency of  the  temporary  chairman,  with  the  understanding 
that  those  may  vote  on  questions  relating  to  permanent 
organization  who  hold  the  certificates  of  membership  in 
the  Convention  issued  by  the  Secretary  of  the  National 
Committee.  Whether  some  of  these  are  subsequently 
displaced  by  the  report  of  the  Credentials  Committee  may 
be  determined  later,  but  it  must,  however,  be  before  the 
more  important  business  of  the  Convention  is  transacted. 
If  it  be  found  necessary  to  grant  the  Credentials  Commit- 
tee more  time  the  temporary  chairman  calls  for  the  report 
of  the  Committee  on  Permanent  Organization.  This 
committee  reports  the  name  of  a  permanent  chairman,  a 
Permanent  corps  of  secretaries,  and  a  list  of  vice-presi- 
Chairman.  dents.  One  from  each  State.  If  these  nomina- 
tions are  accepted  by  the  Convention  the  permanent 
chairman  is  escorted  to  the  platform  and,  on  taking  the 
chair,  he  also  makes  a  speech  to  the  Convention,  con- 
gratulating the  party,  urging  harmony  and  wisdom  in  the 
party  councils,  reviewing  and  defining  the  issues,  in  brief, 
sounding  a  keynote  for  the  approaching  campaign.  If, 
however,  the  Committee  on  Credentials  be  ready  to  re- 
port before  the  permanent  organization  is  effected,  the 
Convention  proceeds  to  act  upon  the  report  to  determine 
its  own  membership.  The  Convention  usually  accepts 
the  majority  report  of  its  Committee  on  Credentials, 
but  sometimes  it  substitutes  a  minority  report  instead. 
Contested  Sometimes,  as  between  contesting  delegations 
Seats.  from  a  State,  the  Convention  decides  to  seat 

both  delegations,  giving  each  delegate  a  half-vote.  When 
this  was  done  by  the  Democratic  Convention  in  Balti- 
more in  1848,  admitting  both  the  Barnburners  and  the 
Hunkers,  allowing  each  faction  to  cast  half  the  vote  to 


The  National  Convention  of  To-Day  i8i 

which  the  State  was  entitled,  the  Barnburners  with- 
drew and  the  Hunkers  also  refused  to  take  part  in 
the  proceedings.*  In  i860,  at  Charleston,  the  '* Hards" 
from  New  York,  who  had  been  elected  by  districts, 
were  favorable  to  the  Southern  program;  the  "Softs," 
elected  by  the  State  Convention,  were  favorable  to  the 
Northern  Democracy  and  to  the  candidacy  of  Senator 
Douglas.  The  Convention  seated  the  "Softs  "  after  a 
hard  contest. 

Having  been  permanently  organized  and  having  fixed 
the  membership  of  the  Convention,  the  assembly  then 
proceeds  to  consider  the  "platform  "  reported 

r        ,        _  .  T^  ,       .  rr^i  ,  Platform. 

by  the  Committee  on  Resolutions.  The  plat- 
form is  an  address  to  the  people,  consisting  sometimes  of 
various  "planks,"  or  a  series  of  resolutions,  sometimes 
of  an  address  without  division  into  numbered  sections, 
containing  the  principles  and  program  of  the  party.  It 
arraigns  the  opposing  party  for  its  errors,  criticises  it  for 
its  course,  joins  issue  with  it  on  prominent  policies  before 
the  public,  and  gives  promise  as  to  what  the  party  will  do 
if  it  is  elected  to  or  retained  in  power.  In  the  platform 
the  managers  usually  try  to  conciliate  every  section  of 
conflicting  party  opinion,  and  they  frequently  produce  a 
document  which  treats  with  "prudent  ambiguity  "  the 
questions  on  which  there  is  division  within  the  party.  In 
1856,  the  Democratic  platform  as  to  slavery  in  the  Ter- 
ritories was  ambiguous  enough  to  hold  together  the 
Northern  and  Southern  wings  of  the  party;  but  in  i860, 
when  men's  convictions  and  purposes  had  become  more 
pronounced  and  positive  on  that  subject,  no  such  plat- 
form could  be  made.  The  refusal  to  make  a  positive 
declaration  on  the  subject  caused  a  split  in  the  party,  and 
a  positive  declaration  for  either  faction  would  also  have 
caused  a  split.  The  same  was  true  of  the  Democratic 
party  on  the  money  question  in  1892  and  1896,  and  like 
*  gtajiwpod,  p.  233, 


i82  Political  Parties  and  Party  Problems 

conditions  caused  like  results, — another  schism.  In  1892, 
the  first  paragraph  in  the  **  money  "  plank  of  the  Demo- 
cratic platform  placated  the  Silver  men,  while  the  next 
paragraph  reassured  the  Gold  men.  One  part  of  the 
declaration  was  to  do  service  in  the  West,  the  other  in  the 
East.  But  by  1896,  when  the  money  question  had  be- 
come the  dominant  controlling  issue  in  the  minds  of  an 
uncompromising  majority  of  the  party,  it  was  not  pos- 
sible to  reassert  such  an  ambiguous  and  uncertain  plank. 
When  honest  men  with  a  strong  purpose  at  heart  are  in 
control,  the  platform  will  not  look  both  ways  on  a  divisive 
issue. 

The  platform  came  along  with  the  Convention  sys- 
tem. The  Democratic  declarations  of  1840  may  be  said 
Early  Party  to  be  the  first  that  involved  the  three  essential 
piatfonns.  factors  of  a  modern  platform, — a  statement  of 
fundamental  party  principles,  policies  to  be  pursued 
under  the  pending  circumstances,  and  pledges  that  these 
principles  and  policies  will  be  carried  out.  Before  this 
there  were  addresses  adopted  at  public  meetings,  resolu- 
tions approved  by  ratification  meetings,  criticisms  or  de- 
fences of  the  Administration  published  by  party  leaders, 
which  were  generally  accepted  as  the  basis  of  party  ac- 
tion ;  but  these  were  not  platforms  in  our  modern  sense. 
In  a  general  way  only,  not  in  the  modern  party  sense,  as 
an  expression  adopted  by  elected  representatives  of  the 
party,  may  the  Virginia  and  Kentucky  Resolutions  of 
1798  be  called  the  platform  upon  which  Jefferson  and 
his  party  appealed  to  the  country  in  opposition  to  the 
Federalist  Administration  of  that  day. 

The  National  Conventions  of  the  two  parties  are  very 
similar  to  one  another.  But  there  are  a  few  differences 
Two-Thirds  ^^^^  ^^^  important,  differences  which  are  re- 
Ruieand  garded  as  "fundamental  and  as  revealing  the 
^  "**  underlying  tendencies  and  principles  of  the. 
two  parties.     These  differences  may  be  summed  up  in 


The  National  Convention  of  To-Day  183 

what  are  known  as  the  two-thirds  rule  and  the  unit  rule.'" 
The  two-thirds  rule  provides  that  no  candidate  shall  be 
declared  nominated  unless  he  shall  have  received  two 
thirds  of  all  the  votes  cast.  This  rule  prevails  only  in 
the  Democratic  Convention.  The  two-thirds  rule  was 
adopted  by  the  first  Democratic  Convention  of  1832,  a 
Convention  called  by  the  supporters  of  President  Jackson 
for  the  purpose  of  nominating  a  candidate  for  the  vice- 
presidency.  It  was  used  in  1836,  but  not  in  1840,  and  it 
was  revived  in  1844  in  order  to  defeat  the  nomination  of 
Van  Buren,  and  it  has  since  been  used  by  the  Democratic 
party. 

There  is  a  connection  between  the  two-thirds  rule  and 
the  unit  rule.  If  the  two-thirds  rule  be  abrogated  while 
the  unit  rule  prevails,  a  few  of  the  large  States,  connection 
though  their  delegations  may  be  nearly  evenly     between  the 

, .    .  ,     ,  ,  ^        .  1  .  ,  Unit  Rtile  and 

divided,  may,  by  enforcing  the  unit  rule,  se-  the  Two- 
cure  a  majority  of  the  Convention  for  a  can-  Thirds  Rule, 
didate  whom  only  a  minority  of  the  delegates  really 
favor.  The  two  -  thirds  rule  lessens  the  probability  of 
this.  These  two  rules  have,  therefore,  been  called  **two 
parts  of  a  single  system,  and  that  system  the  casting  of 
State  votes  as  a  unit."  ' 

The  unit  rule  **is  one  which  allows  (but  does  not  com- 
pel) the~majority  of  a  State  delegation  to  cast  the  entire 
vote  of  a  State. ' '     The  whole  vote  of  the  State 

^  1  .  .1  ••  ^ift  .  Unit  Rule. 

must  be  cast  as  the  majority  of  the  delegation 
decide.     Like  the  two-thirds  rule,  this  applies  only  in  the 
Democratic  Convention.     The  Republicans  do  not  use  it. 
It  is  a  rule  that  has  been  made  by  the  practice  of  the 
State  delegations,  and  the  National  Democratic  Conven- 

'  Carl  Becker,  "The  Unit  Rule  in  National  Nominating  Conventions," 
American  Historical  Review,  Oct.,  1899.  See  also  Stan  wood,  "Elec- 
tion of  1844,"  and  Niles,  vol.  Ixvi.,  p.  211^.,  cited  in  Mr.  Becker's  article. 

'  Becker,  American  Historical Revietv,  Oct.,  1899.  See  also  Dallinger, 
♦*  Nominations  for  Elective  Office  in  United  States,"  Harvard  Historical 
Studies,  1897. 


1 84  Political  Parties  and  Party  Problems 

tion  has  never  seen  fit  to  interfere  with  this  method  of 
casting  the  State  ballot.  The  National  Convention 
merely  permits  this  manner  of  voting. 

The  rule  approved  by  the  Democratic  Convention  of 
i860  asserted: 

**That  in  any  State  which  has  not  provided  or  directed 
by  its  State  Convention  how  its  vote  may  be  given,  the 
The  Unit  Rule  Convention  will  recognize  the  right  of  each 
Recognizes      delegate  to  cast  his  individual  vote."     If  the 

the  Supremacy  11.  1  1     1         t    1 

of  the  State  States  had  mstructed  or  requested  the  delega- 
convention.  ^[^^  ^q  ^q^q  ^s  a  unit,  the  Convention  ruled 
that  it  must  do  so,  and  the  majority  should  decide.  The 
authority  of  the  State  convention  is  recognized.  The 
State  delegation  may  decide  to  vote  as  a  unit,  but  this 
may  not  be  enforced  by  the  Convention.  But,  if  the 
State  convention  has  so  directed,  the  rule  is  enforced. 
**This  recognizes  the  State  convention  as  supreme;  its 
instructions  must  be  followed.  If  no  instructions  are 
given,  the  National  Convention  assumes  authority  and 
allows  each  individual  delegate  to  cast  his  own  vote."  * 

In  1872,  it  was  decided  that  in  voting  for  candidates 
for  President  and  Vice-President  "the  chairman  of  each 
delegation  shall  rise  in  his  place  and  name  how  the  dele- 
gation votes,  and  his  statement  shall  be  considered  the 
vote  of  such  State."  This  left  to  the  Convention  no 
means  of  discovering  whether  a  delegation  which  votes 
as  a  unit  is  doing  so  under  State  instruction,  or  whether 
the  majority,  in  the  absence  of  instruction,  may  not  be 
forcing  a  unit  vote  through  its  control  of  the  chairman. 
Until  1896,  the  statements  of  the  chairman  have  been 
more  or  less  arbitrarily  received  and  all  objections  have 
been  ruled  out  of  order,  and  that,  too,  on  all  questions 
on  which  a  State  vote  has  been  called  for."  * 

There  was  resistance  to  the  unit  rule  in  1884,  in  order 
to  defeat  Mr.  Cleveland  by  preventing  the  whole  vote  of 

*  Becker. 


The  National  Convention  of  To-Day  185 

New  York  from  being  cast  for  him.  It  was  held  that  if 
**unit  instructions  were  ever  advisable  it  would  be  when 
they  were  made  with  reference  to  a  specific  policy  or  a 
particular  candidate.  It  was  the  practice  of  broadly  in- 
structing delegations  to  vote  as  a  unit  on  all  questions  as  the 
m.ajority  dictated,  which  was  especially  objectionable." 
But  to  sustain  the  unit  rule  it  was  urged  that  it  was  the 
right  of  the  State  to  say  how  its  will  should  be  expressed. 
"To  deny  the  States  this  right  is  to  strike  a  blow  at  their 
sovereignty.  The  Republican  party  may  stand  for  cen- 
tralized power,  but  the  Democratic  party  should  stand 
for  the  rights  of  the  States.  * '  *  The  rule  thus  attacked 
out  of  hostility  to  Mr.  Cleveland  was  sustained  by  a  large 
vote  in  the  Convention. 

In  1896,  the  precedent  was  established  of  according  a 
member  of  a  State  the  right  of  challenging  the  vote  as  an- 
nounced by  the  chairman  of  the  delegation.  The  follow- 
ing from  the  proceedings  of  the  Democratic  Convention 
of  1896  will  illustrate  the  latest  practice  in  this  rule.  A 
vote  was  being  taken  on  substituting  the  name  of  J.  W. 
Daniel  for  that  of  David  B.  Hill  for  temporary  chairman. 
This  was  the  first  issue  joined  between  the  Gold  and  Silver 
factions  of  the  Convention.  Iowa  under  the  unit  instruc- 
tion from  the  State  convention  voted  26  yea.  Mr. 
Stackhouse  objected. 

The  Chair :  "  The  Secretary  will  call  the  roll  of  ^^^^^^^  p^^ 
delegates  from  the  State  of  Iowa."  ceedings under 

Mr.  Stone  of  Missouri:  "I  understand  the  *^«  ^^*  ^"^*- 
Democrats  of  the  State  of  Iowa  adopted  the  unit  rule,  and  I 
desire  to  know  whether  the  majority  of  the  delegation  cannot 
cast  the  entire  vote  of  the  State  ?  '  * 

The  Chair  :  '  *  The  Chair  holds  that  the  proposition  as  stated 
by  the  gentleman  from  Missouri  is  entirely  correct.  The  Chair 
further  holds  that  if  a  delegate  from  any  given  State  challenges 

*  Becker,  American  Historical  Review^  October,  1899,  p.  70. 


1 86  Political  Parties  and  Party  Problems 

the  accuracy  or  integrity  of  the  vote  of  a  State  as  announced, 
then  the  list  of  delegates  from  that  State  shall  be  called  for 
the  purpose  of  verifying  the  vote  as  reported." 

Meanwhile  the  polling  of  the  Iowa  delegation  had  re- 
sulted in  a  vote  of  19  to  7  for  substituting  Mr.  Daniel  for 
Mr.  Hill. 

The  Chair:  "The  Iowa  delegation  having  been  in- 
structed to  vote  as  a  i\nit,  the  vote  of  that  State  will  be 
recorded  as  26  votes  yea"  for  Mr.  Daniel.  Seven  dele- 
gates who  wished  to  vote  for  Hill  were  made  to  vote  for 
Daniel.' 

This  seems  to  place  the  unit  rule  on  the  following  foot- 
ing: When  the  States  are  called  to  vote,  the  announce- 
ment of  the  chairman  of  a  delegation  is  accepted  as  the 
correct  vote  of  the  delegation  unless  challenged  by  some 
member  of  it,  in  which  case  the  delegation  is  polled  in 
open  convention.  If  the  delegation  is  under  unit  instruc- 
tions the  vote  of  the  State  is  then  cast  as  a  unit  with  the 
majority;  if  not,  the  vote  stands  as  polled.' 

The  unit  rule  had  no  particular  time  for  its  origin.     It 

is  a  growth  in  practice.     Republican  Conventions  allow 

each  individual  delee^ate  to  cast  his  vote  as  he 

The  Repub-  ^ 

Ucan  conven-  chooscs.  The  Democratic  custom  as  to  the 
tion  Rejects     ^_jj^j|.  j-^jg  j^^g  nevcr  been  introduced  into  the 

the  Unit  Rule.  _,  ,  , .  ^  .  ^, 

Republican  Conventions.  The  attempt  was 
made  to  do  so  in  1876,  but  it  was  not  successful.  The 
Pennsylvania  State  Convention  instructed  its  fifty-eight 
delegates,  "upon  all  questions  to  be  brought  before  or 
arising  in  the  Convention,  to  cast  the  vote  as  a  unit  as  a 
majority  of  the  delegation  may  dictate."  The  fifty-eight 
votes  were  cast  for  Hartranft  of  Pennsylvania  for  Presi- 
dent ;  but  two  of  the  delegates  desired  to  vote  for  Mr. 
Blaine,  and  on  their  appeal  their  votes  were  so  recorded, 

*  Official  Proceedings,  1896,  cited  in  Mr.  Becker's  article — see  preceding 
footnote.  '  Becker. 


The  National  Convention  of  To-Day  187 

the  Chair  deciding  that  it  was  the  right  of  *  *  any  and  every 
member  equally  to  vote  his  sentiments  in  this  Conven- 
tion." The  decision  of  the  Chair  was  sustained  by  the 
Convention.  Pennsylvania,  and  other  State  delegations 
which  had  been  instructed  to  vote  with  the  majority  as 
a  unit,  divided  in  the  voting.  Another  effort  to  intro- 
duce unit  voting  into  the  Republican  Convention  was 
made  in  1880.  This  was  done,  not  because  the  rule  was 
desirable,  but  because  its  use  would  serve  the  purposes 
of  certain  political  leaders.  Senator  Conkling  of  New 
York,  Senator  Cameron  of  Pennsylvania,  and  Senator 
Logan  of  Illinois  were  leading  the  wing  of  the  Republi- 
can party  that  proposed  to  nominate  General  Grant  for  a 
third  term.  These  leaders  set  themselves  to  Attempt  to 
give  their  candidate  an  undivided  vote  from     Renominate 

,  ,  o  -T-1  Grant  by  the 

these  large  States.  The  seventy -two  votes  AppUcation  of 
from  New  York,  fifty-eight  from  Pennsylvania,  *^®  ^°^*  ^"^• 
and  forty-four  from  Illinois,  making  one  hundred  and 
seventy-four  votes  in  all,  would  win  great  prestige  to 
their  cause.  In  addition  to  these  States  Arkansas,  Ala- 
bama, and  Texas  were  instructed  to  vote  as  a  unit  for 
General  Grant.  It  was  thought  that  such  a  nucleus 
would  draw  sufficient  support  from  all  other  sources  to 
win  over  the  wavering  ones  who  are  always  anxious  to 
"get  on  the  band-wagon  "  or  "stand  in**  with  the  winner. 
There  was  grave  danger,  as  politics  goes,  of  this  scheme's 
succeeding.  Early  State  conventions  were  held  in  these 
large  States  and  State  instructions  were  given.  Shrewd 
management  and  sharp  practice  were  resorted  to.  In 
Illinois  at  the  State  convention  the  time-honored  custom 
of  allowing  the  delegation  from  each  congressional  dis- 
trict to  name  the  delegate  was  abandoned,  and  a  solid 
Grant  delegation  was  appointed  by  a  committee  of  the 
State  convention  under  the  control  of  the  Grant  leaders. 
Senator  Cameron  was  Chairman  of  the  National  Commit- 
tee.    The  bold  plan  was  conceived  by  these  leaders  that, 


1 88  Political  Parties  and  Party  Problems 

when  Mr.  Cameron  called  the  Convention  to  order,  he 
was  to  present  a  name  for  temporary  chairman.  If  this 
were  a  Grant  man  he  was  to  rule  that  all  delegations 
under  State  instructions  to  vote  as  a  unit  must  abide  by 
their  instructions.  But  if  the  temporary  chairman  named 
by  the  Committee  were  an  anti-Grant  man  (as  was  likely 
to  be  the  case,  since  a  majority  of  the  National  Commit- 
tee were  opposed  to  Grant),  then  some  one  was  to  move 
to  substitute  the  name  of  a  Grant  man  in  his  stead,  and 
in  the  ballot  on  that  motion  Senator  Cameron  was  to  en- 
force the  unit  rule  on  all  the  instructed  States.  In  this 
way  the  Grant  forces  would  secure  the  temporary  pre- 
siding officer,  who  would  enforce  the  unit  rule  in  more 
important  motions  in  the  election  of  the  permanent  pre- 
siding officer  and  finally,  through  the  latter,  in  the  ballot- 
ing for  President.  But  there  was  a  revolt  within  the  party 
and  the  issue  over  the  unit  rule  was  fought  out  in  the 
National  Committee  before  it  had  a  chance  to  appear  in 
the  Convention.  The  anti-Grant  men,  who  were  in  a  ma- 
jority in  the  Committee,  in  order  to  block  the  scheme  of 
Cameron  and  the  Grant  leaders,  offered  in  the  Committee 
a  resolution  as  expressing  the  sense  of  the  Committee 
and  as  a  recommendation  to  the  Convention  to  govern 
the  temporary  presiding  officer,  that  each  delegate  should 
vote  his  own  sentiments  even  against  any  unit  rule  or 
other  instructions  passed  by  a  State  convention.  This 
right,  it  was  asserted,  had  been  "conceded  without  dissent 
in  i860  and  1868,  and  after  full  debate  confirmed  by  the 
Convention  of  1876.  It  has  thus  become  a  part  of  the  law 
of  the  Republican  party,  and  until  reversed  by  a  Conven- 
tion itself  must  remain  a  governing  principle."  *  Senator 
Cameron,  in  the  sessions  of  the  Committee,  with  unpre- 
cedented boldness  and  a  flagrant  disregard  of  the  rights  of 
the  majority,  refused  to  entertain  and  put  this  motion  to 
the  Committee,  and  he  declared  all  out  of  order  who  ap- 

^  American  Historical  Review,  October,  1899,  p.  78. 


The  National  Convention  of  To-Day  189 

pealed  from  his  decision.  His  opponents  then  proceeded 
to  take  steps  to  displace  him  from  the  chairmanship. 
Cameron  then  yielded.  A  compromise  was  arranged. 
The  unit  rule  was  not  enforced  in  the  temporary  organiza- 
tion of  the  Convention  and  Senator  Cameron  was  allowed 
to  retain  the  chairmanship.  The  Convention  adopted  a 
rule  reported  by  General  Garfield,  chairman  of  the  Com- 
mittee on  Rules,  providing  that  in  case  any  delegate  ob- 
jects to  the  announcement  made  by  the  chairman  of  his 
delegation,  "the  president  of  the  Convention  shall  direct 
the  roll  of  members  of  such  delegation  to  be  called  and 
the  result  recorded  in  accordance  with  the  votes  individu- 
ally given."  Individual  voting  was  the  result,  and  the 
instructed  States,  large  and  small,  divided  on  the  various 
ballots.  The  constant  policy  of  the  Republican  party  to 
allow  each  delegate  to  cast  his  vote  as  he  pleases,  not 
only  as  against  unit  voting,  but  even  as  against  the  in- 
structions of  his  district  convention,  was  again  illustrated 
in  1888.  The  Indiana  delegates,  in  both  the  State  and 
district  conventions,  had  been  instructed  to  vote  for  Gen- 
eral Harrison  for  President,  but  two  of  the  delegates  dis- 
regarded these  instructions  and  cast  their  votes  for  General 
Gresham,  without  protest  on  the  part  of  any.  Neither 
the  State  nor  the  State  delegation  can  enforce  the  unit 
rule  against  the  uniform  practice  of  the  Convention. 
Thus  we  note  the  difference  between  the  two  types  of 
Convention,  The  National  Convention  of  the  Demo- 
cratic party  has  always  allowed  States  to  use  the  unit 
rule ;  the  National  Convention  of  the  Republican  party 
has  never  allowed  them  to  use  it.* 

One  Convention  defers  to  the  State  as  a  final  authority ; 
it  recognizes  an  authority  higher  than  itself.  The  other 
overrules  the  authority  of  the  State ;  it  stands  as  a  na- 
tional body  and  does  not  recognize  an  authority  higher  than 
itself.     This  is  the  difference  between  States'  rights  and 

*  Becker,    American  Historical  Review ^  Oct.,  1899,  p.  80. 


190  Political  Parties  and  Party  Problems 

Nationalism.  The  Democratic  custom  is  a  survival  of 
one  of  the  old  traditions  of  the  party, — a  protest  against 
centralization.  The  Republican  custom  comes 
can  co^nven-"  f fom  3.  disposition  to  make  the  central  authority 
tion  is  supreme. 

Democratic  "I  bid  you  Consider  long  and  well,"  said  Mr. 

Convention  is  Fellowes  of  New  York,  in  the  Democratic  Con- 

FederaL 

vention  of  1884,  "before  you  strike  down  the 
sovereign  power  of  our  State  expressed  by  the  unanimous 
will  of  its  delegates. ' ' 

"I  know,"  said  Mr.  Doolittle  of  Wisconsin,  in  the  same 
Convention,  *  *  that  in  the  Republican  party — a  party  which 
believes  that  Congress  and  the  Federal  Government  have  every 
power  which  is  not  expressly  denied,  and  that  the  States  have 
hardly  any  rights  left  which  the  Federal  Government  is  bound 
to  respect — they  can  adopt  in  their  Convention  this  idea  that  a 
State  does  not  control  its  own  delegation  in  a  National  Conven- 
tion. Not  so  in  the  Convention  of  the  great  Democratic  party. 
We  stand,  Mr.  President,  for  the  rights  of  the  States." 

**  The  principle  which  is  involved  in  this  controversy,"  said 
Mr.  Atkins  of  Kansas,  in  the  Republican  Convention  of  1876, 
*  *  is  whether  the  State  of  Pennsylvania  shall  make  laws  for  this 
Convention;  whether  this  Convention  is  supreme  and  shall 
make  its  own  laws.  We  are  supreme.  We  are  original.  We 
stand  here  representing  the  great  Republican  party  of  the 
United  States,  and  neither  Pennsylvania  nor  New  York  nor 
any  State  can  come  in  here  and  bind  us  down  with  their  caucus 
resolutions."  * 

It  is  said  that  the  Republican  party  in  allowing  each 
district  to  vote  independently  of  the  State  is  more  demo- 
cratic and  stands  more  for  localism.  But  the  Republican 
practice  does  not  recognize  the  district  as  a  unit.  It 
recognizes  neither  the  State  nor  the  district  as  such.  It 
regards  the  Convention  as  representing  the   individual 

*  Becker,  American  Historical  Review ^  see  ante. 


The  National  Convention  of  To-Day  191 

citizens  of  the  nation.  Two  delegates  are  allotted  to  each 
district  as  a  convenient  geographical  division  of  the  coun- 
try, but  each  delegate  casts  his  own  vote  as  he  pleases, 
and  district  instructions  cannot  bind  the  two  delegates  to 
vote  together  nor  can  instructions  bind  them  to  vote 
contrary  to  their  individual  judgments.  This  makes  them 
national  representatives,  not  merely  district  delegates.* 
It  will  be  noted  by  those  acquainted  with  American  his- 
tory that  these  tendencies,  toward  centralization  and 
decentralization  respectively,  are  in  harmony  with  the 
history  and  purposes  of  the  two  parties. 

As  to  instructions  in  a  Convention,  a  delegate  will  gen- 
erally feel  bound  to  vote  according  to  the  resolutions  of 
the  State  or  district  convention  appointing 
him.  But  he  is  not  bound  to  do  so.  Repeat- 
edly in  the  Republican  Conventions  delegates  have  disre- 
garded instructions  and  have  been  sustained  by  the  Con- 
vention in  their  right  to  do  so.  State  and  district 
conventions  may  instruct  their  delegates  to  support  the 
candidacy  of  a  "favorite  son"  of  the  State,  and  such 
instructions  are  usually  observed,  though  not  always. 
After  the  delegates  have  been  chosen  and  instructed, 
something  may  come  to  light  concerning  the  proposed 
nominee,  or  policy,  which  may  make  a  violation  of  in- 
structions desirable,  if  not  necessary.  Van  Buren's  letter 
in  opposition  to  Texas  annexation  on  April  27,  p  ^_ 
1844,  caused  a  meeting  in  Virginia  to  change  structionsin 
instructions;    other    delegates    assumed    that  '  "*"** 

their  constituents  would  not  regard  the  instructions  as 
binding;  others  resigned  rather  than  carry  out  such  in- 
structions. Under  such  circumstances  it  may  be  the  duty 
of  delegates  to  disobey  their  instructions.  In  the  same 
Democratic  Convention  of  1844  the  delegates  from  New 
York   were  instructed  for  Van  Buren  who  were  not  at 

'  Case  of  Judge  Field,  Indiana,  1888  ;  Proceedings  of  National  Repub- 
lican Convention. 


192  Political  Parties  and  Party  Problems 

heart  for  him.  They  voted  for  a  two-thirds  rule,  which 
was  sure  to  secure  his  defeat,  and  then  nominally  carried 
out  their  instructions  by  voting  for  Van  Buren  on  the 
first  ballot.  You  cannot  bind  men  that  have  no  heart  for 
the  cause,  men  that  are  untrustworthy  and  untrue,  and  it 
is  useless  to  bind  men  that  are.  However,  for  disregard- 
ing his  instructions,  which,  presumably,  would  be  the 
voice  of  his  constituents,  the  delegate  should  show  good 
reasons.  He  would  be  condemned,  perhaps  politically 
ostracized,  as  for  violating  a  trust,  if  he  misrepresented 
The  Ironclad  ^^d  betrayed  the  people  whom  he  stands  for. 
Pledge.  The  ironclad  pledge  was  applied  to  the  mem- 

bers of  the  National  Republican  Convention  in  1880  by  a 
resolution  which  asserted  that  every  member  of  the  Con- 
vention was  **in  honor  bound  to  support  its  nominee, 
whoever  that  nominee  may  be,  and  that  no  man  should 
hold  his  seat  here  who  is  not  ready  so  to  agree."  This 
was  an  attempt  to  bind  the  action  of  the  delegates  after 
the  Convention,  or  to  prevent  men  of  independent  minds 
from  participating  in  the  party  action.  Such  a  pledge 
will  not  bind  the  unscrupulous,  and  men  of  honor  do  not 
need  it. 

After  the  Convention  has  adopted  rules  and  has  deter- 
mined its  membership  by  accepting  the  report  of  its  Com- 
mittee on  Credentials,  and  after  it  has  adopted  a  platform, 
it  proceeds  to  nominate  candidates  for  President  and  Vice- 
President.  Interest  centres  in  the  presidential  nomination. 
So  much  is  this  true,  except  when  a  party  President  is  to  be 
renominated,  that  the  vice-presidency  receives 
Presidency  is  t)ut  little  Consideration.  Geographical  consid- 
but  Little        erations  may  influence  the  choice  of  the  Vice- 

Considered.        t-»        •  i  i  •  •  •  r      i 

President,  or  the  victorious  wing  of  the  party 
may  confer  the  nomination  on  a  leader  of  their  defeated 
opponents  as  a  means  of  soothing  disappointments  and 
conciliating  and  uniting  all  elements  for  the  support  of 
the  presidential  nominee.     It  often  happens  that  entirely 


The  National  Convention  of  To-Day  193 

unknown  men  are  named  for  Vice-President.*  Of  course, 
this  is  a  dangerous  custom,  for  the  Vice-President  should 
be  a  man  as  well  equipped  for  the  first  place  as  the  one 
who  heads  the  ticket. 

In  the  contest  for  the  presidential  nomination  certain 
classes  of  candidates  are  recognized.  The  *  *  favorite  ' '  is 
one  of  the  prominent,  leading  candidates,  who  The 

has  been  before  the  public  for  some  time,  for  "  Favorite." 
whom  great  preliminary  efforts  have  been  made,  who,  as 
the  first  choice  of  a  large  number  from  all  parts  of  the 
country,  and  the  second  choice  of  many  others,  has  such 
support  as  to  lead  to  the  expectation  that  he  may  be 
nominated.  The  *  *  favorite  son  "  is  a  leader  of  The  ••  Favorite 
prominence  and   influence  in  his  State,  who,  ^°°-*' 

however,  has  not  been  a  figure  of  national  prominence  in 
politics.  His  support  comes  chiefly  from  his  home  State, 
not  generally  from  the  country  at  large.  His  State  dele- 
gates are  probably  instructed  for  him  and  are  working  for 
his  nomination.  The  hope  of  his  nomination  is  based 
partly  on  his  recognized  fitness,  partly  on  his  geographical 
location,  largely  on  the  inability  of  the  Convention  to 
agree  upon  one  of  the  "favorites,"  or  on  the  probability 
that  the  "favorites  "  will  kill  one  another  off.  The  strife, 
the  personal  rivalries,  the  bitterness  and  rancor  in  the 
Convention  are  likely  to  arise  among  the  "favorites  "  ;  the 
"favorite  sons,"  or  their  managers,  seek  to  avoid  exciting 
personal  antagonisms  and  animosities. 

The  "dark  horse  "  is  the  candidate  who  comes  into  the 
running  after  the  Convention  has  pretty  well  spent  its 
energies  in  attempting  to  choose  between  the  The  ••  Dark 
'  *  favorites*  *  and  the  *  *  favorite  sons.  * '    The  can-  Horse." 

didacy  of  the  *  *  dark  horse '  *  may  have  been  thoroughly 
planned,  the  runner  may  be  well  groomed  by  astute 
managers  before  his  name  is  mentioned  in  the  Conven- 
tion,  or   before   he  is  seriously  voted  for  there.     The 

*  See  the  Author's  The  American  Republic  and  Its  Government^  p.  137  sqq. 
»3 


194  Political  Parties  and  Party  Problems 

nomination  of  a  "dark  horse  "  is  not  likely  to  be  the  result 
of  a  spontaneous  movement  in  the  Convention,  without 
pre-convention  work  or  plan,  though  it  may  be  so.  A 
man  who  is  recognized  as  a  fit  candidate,  but  who  has  not 
been  in  the  fight  for  the  nomination,  whom  the  Conven- 
tion and  the  country  are  not  thinking  of  as  the  probable 
nominee,  who  has  not  been  identified  with  either  con- 
tending faction  in  the  party,  who  is  colorless  and  unob- 
jectionable,— such  a  man  is  an  eligible  "dark  horse.'*  A 
"dark  horse  "  may  be  mentioned  as  such  publicly,  but  it 
is  understood  that  he  is  not  a  candidate,  and  if  there  are 
managers  who  intend  to  bring  in  his  name  at  the  oppor- 
tune time,  any  intention  of  a  candidacy  on  his  part  will 
be  likely  to  be  denied.  The  struggle  in  the  Convention 
is  not  only  to  nominate  a  man, — it  is  equally  for  the  pur- 
pose of  defeating  a  certain  man,  and  it  often  occurs  that 
the  struggle  resolves  itself  into  "the  field  against  the 
*  favorite.  *' *  If  an  objectionable  "favorite"  cannot  be 
defeated  by  another  "favorite,**  as  Grant  could  not  be 
beaten  by  Blaine  in  the  Republican  Convention  of  1880, 
the  field  might  be  united  in  opposition  to  the  leading 
"favorite  *'  by  the  candidacy  of  a  "dark  horse,"  as  was 
done  in  the  nomination  of  Garfield  in  that  year. 

The  candidates*  names  are  placed  before  the  Conven- 
tion on  a  roll-call  of  the  States.  A  candidate  from  one 
M  th  d  f  State  may  have  his  name  placed  before  the 
Voting  in  Convention  by  another  State,  and  this  may  be 
Convention,  gccondcd  by  several  States  in  succession.  The 
Convention  votes  by  States,  alphabetically,  and  if  the 
vote  as  announced  by  the  chairman  of  the  delegation  is 
challenged,  the  delegation  is  polled  in  open  Convention. 

When  there  are  several  candidates  before  the  Conven- 
tion and  the  supporters  of  the  various  candidates  are  de- 
^^  termined  and  well  organized,  the  balloting  may 
continue  for  a  number  of  days.  When  the 
weaker  factions  begin  to  change  their  votes  for  one  of  the 


The  National  Convention  of  To-Day  195 

stronger  candidates,  the  ** break"  comes.  Instructions 
and  pledges  are  assumed  to  have  been  fulfilled,  and  the 
delegates  break  away  from  candidates  they  have  so  far 
supported.  Decisive  balloting  is  likely  to  result.  Dele- 
gates, as  a  rule,  have  a  fondness  for  the  ** band-wagon," 
— that  is,  they  wish  to  stand  in  favor  with  the  successful 
candidate  and  his  managers,  and  to  be  identified  with 
the  vanguard  of  victory.  Consequently,  at  a  "break" 
in  the  balloting,  if  a  leading  candidate  seems  destined  to 
win  there  may  be  a  rush  of  delegates  to  his  support, 
and  we  have  the  "stampede." 

"  The  defeat  becomes  a  rout.  Battalion  after  battalion  goes 
over  to  the  victors,  while  the  vanquished,  ashamed  of  their 
candidate,  try  to  conceal  themselves  by  throwing  The 

away  their  colors  and  joining  in  the  cheers  that  ac-  "  stampede." 
claim  the  conqueror.  To  stampede  a  convention  is  the 
steadily  contemplated  aim  of  every  manager  who  knows  he 
cannot  win  on  the  first  ballot.  He  enjoys  it  as  the  most 
dramatic  form  of  victory,  he  values  it  because  it  evokes  an 
enthusiasm  whose  echo  reverberates  all  over  the  Union."  * 

Adjournment  is  the  only  means  of  resisting  a  stampede, 
and  if  that  fails,  the  managers  of  the  field  against  the 
favorite  see  that  the  battle  is  lost,  and  the  successful  can- 
didate goes  in  with  votes  to  spare  and  "with  a  hurricane 
of  cheering. ' '  A  motion  is  offered  to  make  the  nomination 
unanimous,  and  this  is  supported  by  the  defeated  factions 
with  as  much  grace  as  possible,  and  all  pledge  loyalty  and 
support  to  the  chosen  chieftain.  The  Convention,  per- 
haps after  recess,  proceeds  after  the  same  fashion  to  nomi- 
nate a  candidate  for  Vice-President,  and  the  work  is  done. 
After  appointing  the  Convention  chairman  and  a  commit- 
tee officially  to  inform  the  candidates  of  their  nomination 
the  Convention  adjourns  sine  die. 

Another  piece  of  party  work  for  the  machine  is  the 

*  Bryce,  vol.  ii.,  p.  199. 


196  Political  Parties  and  Party  Problems 

nomination  by  the  State  Conventions  of  the  respective 
party  candidates  for  presidential  electors.  These  nom- 
5.  Nomination  inations  may  be  made  either  before  or  after 
of  Presidential  |-j^g  National  Convention.    One  elector  is  nom- 

Electors  by        .  .-,..., 

State  Con-  mated  for  each  congressional  district  in  the 
ventions.         g^.^^^  ^^^  ^^q  f^j.  ^^^  Statc-at-large.     It  is  not 

required  that  they  be  residents  of  the  districts  for  which 
they  are  named.  Electors  are  State  officers,  and  they 
are  usually  nominated  by  the  State  convention,  though 
a  separate  district  convention,  or  the  delegates  from  the 
district  to  the  State  convention,  may  choose  the  district 
elector.* 

'  For  the  character  of  the  electors,  the  methods  of  their  election,  and 
their  qualifications,  see  7'Ae  American  Republic  and  Its  Government  p.  116 
sqq. 


CHAPTER  XIII 

THE  CONDUCT  OF  THE  CAMPAIGN 

WHEN  the  Convention  has  adjourned  sine  die,  it  goes 
out  of  existence  and  the  temporary  part  of  the 
party  machinery  has  done  its  work.  The  com-  xhe  Cam- 
mittee  machinery,  the  permanent  part  of  the  p^k°- 

organization, then  proceeds  to  conduct  the  campaign.  The 
**  campaign  "  is  the  term  applied  to  the  party  struggle  for 
supremacy  during  the  few  months  immediately  preceding 
the  presidential  election  in  November.  In  a  way,  the 
campaign  has  been  conducted  with  more  or  less  energy 
during  the  whole  of  the  preceding  four  years.  The 
party  in  power  has  been  making  a  record  for  itself  by  its 
administration,  while  the  cons^ressional  com-  „         .     , 

'  o  Congressional 

mittee  —  a  member  from  each  State  —  is  al-  campaign 
most  constantly  distributing  campaign  litera-  i'»terature. 
ture.  This  congressional  material,  sent  out  under  the 
frank  of  the  members  of  Congress,  serves  to  keep  the 
voters  informed  on  the  issues,  and  these  speeches  are 
often  delivered  in  Congress  for  no  other  purpose  than  for 
popular  distribution  —  for  the  voters  in  "Buncombe." 
But  in  the  regular  campaign,  which  generally  occupies 
three  months  before  the  election,  a  great  net-  xhe  Network 
work  of  committees  is  set  into  operation.  Be-  of  commit- 
sides  the  National  Committee  and  its  executive  *®®^ 

committee,  which  is  known  as  the  "campaign  commit- 
tee,"   there    is    a   State   committee   in   every   State,    a 

197 


198  Political  Parties  and  Party  Problems 

committee  in  every  county,  city,  township,  ward,  and 
precinct.  Each  committee  attends  to  its  own  bailiwick, 
but  as  they  all  wish  to  work  in  harmony  and  not  at  cross- 
purposes  they  must  work  under  some  general  directing 
head.  This  is  the  executive  committee  of  the  National 
The  Executive  Committee,  which  has  geneial  charge  of  the 
Committee,  campaign.  This  committee  is  made  up  after 
consultation  with  the  candidates  for  President  and  Vice- 
President  and  with  other  interested  and  wise  leaders  of 
the  party.  At  the  head  of  this  committee  is  the  Chairman 
of  the  National  Committee,  who  in  politics  has 
man  of  the  bccome  an  important  national  figure,  like 
Kationai         Senator  Hanna  of  Ohio  for  the  Republicans 

Committee. 

and  Senator  Jones  of  Arkansas  for  the  Demo- 
crats. The  Chairman  is  the  campaign  manager ;  he  raises 
the  party  funds,  or  provides  agencies  for  doing  so,  helps 
to  direct  the  appointment  of  delegates,  and  makes  certain 
party  pledges,  and  if  his  party  candidate  be  successful  he 
may  be,  to  an  extent,  the  dispenser  of  party  patronage. 
The  national  Chairman  is  likely  to  become  a  confidential 
adviser  and  a  close  counsellor  with  the  President,  espe- 
cially on  matters  where  party  interests  are  involved.  He  is 
therefore  likely  to  be  much  sought  after  by  those  who  may 
be  seeking  appointments  after  the  election  ;  these  look  to 
him  as  the  dispenser  of  party  patronage.  During  the 
campaign  he  is  made  the  target  of  opposition  and  abuse 
•by  his  opponents,  in  press  and  speech,  before  the  public. 
The  national  Chairman  is  the  captain  of  the  forces,  the 
commander-in-chief,  the  head  master  of  the  machine,  and 
he  is  expected  to  be  a  political  manager  of  the  first  class, 
energetic  and  forceful,  skilful  and  astute.  To  be  the  gen- 
eral head  and  director  of  the  campaign,  the  Chairman 
must  understand  the  political  situation  in  all  parts  of  the 
country,  must  be  in  close  touch  with  popular  feeling,  and 
he  must  have  a  faculty  for  detail  and  a  capacity  for  un- 
limited work.     His  executive  committee — his  lieutenants 


The  Conduct  of  the  Campaign        199 

or  staff  officers — are  also  astute  politicians.  These  men 
are  put  in  charge  and  made  responsible  for  certain  div- 
isions of  the  work.  The  Secretary  of  the  Com-  ^j^^  secretary 
mittee,  while  he  is  subordinate  in  determin-  of  the 

ing  the  policy  of  the  committee,  is  one  of  the  Committee, 
most  effective  factors  in  the  campaign.  The  Chairman 
may  visit  different  parts  of  the  country,  and  may  make 
campaign  speeches ;  but  the  Secretary  is  the  constant  ex- 
ecutive worker  and  director  at  headquarters,  and  no  man 
in  the  country  is  more  familiar  with  the  details  of  actual 
campaign  work  than  he.  He  is  an  able  business  manager, 
he  occupies  a  position  of  first-rate  importance,  and  he 
probably  knows  more  of  the  actual  forces  in  practical 
politics  than  any  other  man  in  the  country. 

The  National  Committee  is  composed  of  our  national 
party  rulers  and  its  importance  should  be  appreciated. 

In  1848,  the  Democratic  Convention  at  Baltimore  "di- 
rected the  appointment  of  a  central  committee  of  one 
member  from  each  State  to  take  general  charge  origin  and 
of  the  canvass  and  of  the  party's  interests.  Organization 
This  was  the  first  National  Committee  ever  National 
organized."^  At  present  the  Committee  of  Committee, 
each  party  consists  of  fifty-one  members, — one  from  each 
State  and  Territory  and  one  from  the  District  of  Colum- 
bia. The  Chairman  and  Secretary  of  the  National  Com- 
mittee need  not  be  members  of  the  committee.  The 
committeemen  are  appointed  at  the  preceding  National 
Convention,  having  been  previously  selected  by  the  State 
delegations  to  that  Convention.  Just  before  nominating 
candidates  in  the  National  Convention  the  roll  of  the 
Convention  is  called  by  States  for  the  nomina- 
tion of  committeemen  from  each  State  and  National 
Territory.     As  the  roll  is  called,  the  chairman    Committee  is 

f  ,0  -i-.-iii-  •  .  Constituted. 

of  each  State  or  Territorial  delegation  arises  in 

turn  and  names  the  committeeman  from  his  State,  the 

*  Stanwood's  History  of  the  Presidency^  p.  232. 


2CX)  Political  Parties  and  Party  Problems 

delegation,  or  a  majority  of  it,  having  previously  agreed 
upon  a  man.  The  term  of  office  is  four  years,  a  member 
of  the  Committee,  unless  removed  for  cause,  continuing 
to  serve  until  the  rising  of  the  next  National  Convention. 

In  certain  contingencies  the  State  Convention  or  State 
Committee  of  the  party  may  select  the  National  Commit- 
teeman from  that  State,  subject  to  the  approval  of  the 
National  Committee. 

The  Committee  chooses  its  Chairman,  who,  as  the  offi- 
cial head  of  the  party,  is,  as  we  have  said,  one  of  the 
most  important  political  factors  in  the  nation.  It  is  not 
always  that  a  National  Committee  Chairman  stands  so 
close  to  the  President  as  Mr.  Hanna  did  to  Mr.  McKinley, 
or  that  he  so  largely  controls  presidential  patronage  as  did 
Mr.  Hanna,  but  this  tendency  in  party  politics  is  notice- 
able. The  Chairman  of  the  defeated  party  is 
Importance  ^^^^  deferred  to  as  the  representative  and 
of  the  spokesman  of  his  party;  what  he  does,  says, 

or  is,  the  party  is  more  or  less  held  responsible 
for,  and  party  policies  are  always  submitted  to  his  judg- 
ment. Altogether  the  party  Committee  and  its  Chairman 
are  prominent,  perhaps  dominant,  figures  in  national 
politics.* 

Although  the  Federal  system  and  the  doctrine  of 
States*  rights  are  recognized  in  these  party  organizations, 
especially  by  the  Democratic  party,  yet  the  National 
Committees  are  given  important  central  supervising 
powers.  The  Committee  in  the  final  resort  must  be  the 
judge  of  its  own  membership.  It  is  not  likely  to  override 
the  action  of  the  State  delegation  or  State  convention, 
Po  ere  f  th  ^y  ^^fusing  to  scat  a  member  selected  by  these 
national  agencies;  yet  the  National  Committee  must 
Committee,  j^^ivc  the  powcr  to  protect  the  party  from  ene- 
mies within  its  councils,  otherwise  local  conditions  might 

'  See  "The  New  Powers  of  the  National  Committee,"  Rollo  Ogden, 
Atlantic  Monthly,  Jan.,  1902. 


The  Conduct  of  the  Campaign        201 

cause  men  to  be  seated  in  the  executive  councils  who  were 
traitors  to  the  platforms  and  candidates  approved  by  the 
party.  Cases  arose  in  1896  testing  this.  Certain  mem- 
bers of  the  National  Democratic  Committee  were  betray- 
ing the  interests  of  the  party,  not  wishing  to  have  the 
Bryan  Democracy  successful  in  the  campaign.  The  Na- 
tional Committee  declared  their  places  vacant ;  the  facts 
were  placed  before  the  Democratic  authorities  of  the 
States  involved  and  they  were  asked  to  name  "loyal 
Democrats"  to  fill  the  vacancies.  In  Massachusetts 
and  Pennsylvania  Mr.  Cochrane  and  Mr.  Harrity,  who 
were  out  of  sympathy  with  the  purposes  of  the  party  in 
that  campaign,  were  displaced  by  subsequent  State  con- 
ventions within  their  States.  Mr.  J.  M.  Guffey  for 
Pennsylvania  and  Mr.  George  Fred  Williams  from 
Massachusetts  were  recommended  by  the  State  conven- 
tions to  the  National  Committee.  Before  the  National 
Committee  Mr.  Harrity  contested  the  right  and  power  of 
the  State  convention  to  remove  him.  A  ballot  was  taken 
on  this  question  and  the  National  Committee  upheld  the 
right  of  the  State  convention  to  declare  the  membership 
on  the  National  Committee  for  that  State  vacant,  and  to 
recommend  a  successor.  In  this  case  Mr.  Guffey  was 
seated.*  This  does  not  mean  that  the  State  convention 
or  the  State  committee  is  recognized  as  having  the  right 
to  fill  any  vacancy  that  may  occur  in  the  National  Com- 
mittee. The  recommendation  of  the  Pennsylvania  Demo- 
crats was  approved  in  this  instance,  and,  except  for  good 
cause,  all  such  recommendations  are  likely  to  be  ap- 
proved; but  the  National  Committee  reserves  the  final 
right  of  deciding  in  such  cases, — of  accepting  or  rejecting 
nominations. 

It  should  be  understood,  of  course,  that  there  is  no 
written  constitution  for  the  parties  regulating  these  mat- 

*  Letter  to  the  Author  from  C.  A.  Walsh,  Secretary  of  the  Democratic 
National  Committee,  March  3,  1900. 


202  Political  Parties  and  Party  Problems 

ters.  Tradition,  custom,  precedent,  are  all-powerful  in 
guiding  the  action  of  the  party  authorities.  A  century 
of  politics  has  brought  certain  observances  and  political 
traditions.  These  are  unwritten  laws  as  firmly  fixed  as  if 
they  were  a  part  of  the  Constitution.  They  exist  by  the 
consent  of  the  governed. 

Every  experienced  political  manager  knows  that  the 
first  essential  to  the  successful  conduct  of  a  campaign  is 
Importance  of  Organization.  The  next  important  essential,  it 
Organization.  ]^a.s  been  Said,  is  organization  ;  a  third,  is  or- 
ganization. The  organization  must  be  thorough  and 
complete.  The  National  Committee,  the  State  commit- 
tees, the  county  committees,  the  township  committees, 
and  the  appointed  party  agents  and  workers  in  the  city 
precincts  and  wards,  must  all  be  in  close  articulation  and 
co-operation  with  one  another. 

For  working  purposes  during  the  campaign  the  Na- 
„  ^^.  . .       ^tional   Committee    is    subdivided.      Its   most 

Subdivisions  of 

the  National    important  subdivisions  are  the  executive  com- 

Committee.      j^ittec  and  the  finance  committee.     It  has  also : 

(i)  A  Committee  in  charge  of  the  Bureau  of  Speakers. 

(2)  A  Committee  in  charge  of  Literary  and  Press 
Matters. 

(3)  A  Committee  in  charge  of  Distribution  of  Public 
Documents. 

Another  party  National  Committee  deserves  notice  in 
this  connection.  This  is  the  Congressional  Campaign 
Congressional  Committee.  This  committee  is  independent 
Committee.  q[  ^-^g  National  Committee  and  of  the  National 
Convention,  though  it  always  works  in  co-operation  with 
these.  It  is  appointed  by  the  congressional  caucus  of 
the  party, — the  party  members  of  Congress.  While  the 
National  Committee  and  the  local  committees  are  attend- 
ing to  the  business  of  carrying  the  States  necessary  to 
elect  the  President,  the  Congressional  Committee  gives  its 
special  attention  to  seeing  that  the  party  carry  a  majority 


The  Conduct  of  the  Campaign        203 

of  the  next  Congress ;  that  particular  attention  is  given  to 
certain  doubtful  districts,  and  that  money  and  speakers 
are  sent  to  the  strategic  points.  This  committee  is  an 
adjunct  to  the  regular  party  organization. 

In  connection  with  the  National,  State,  and  congres- 
sional committees  notice  should  be  taken  of  the  many 
local  committees,  all  of  which  go  to  make  up  Local  Party 
the  permanent  part  of  the  party  organization.  Committees. 
There  are  the  congressional  district  committee  and  the 
county  central  committee.  There  is  no  uniform  system 
for  constituting  these  committees  throughout  the  States, 
but  the  congressional  district  committee  may  be  com- 
posed of  the  chairmen  of  the  county  central  committees 
of  the  several  counties  within  the  district,  and  the  chair- 
men of  the  district  committees  may  in  their  turn  be  ex- 
officio  members  of  the  State  central  committees.  When 
two  or  more  counties  are  joined  together  for  the  purpose 
of  electing  a  State  Senator  or  Representative  to  the  State 
legislature,  there  may  be  a  joint  committee  for  these 
counties.  The  respective  county  chairmen  may  serve  as 
such  a  committee.  In  some  States  there  may  be  com- 
mittees, or  committeemen,  for  each  township,  school 
district,  ward,  or  voting  precinct.  Party  agents,  or  com- 
mitteemen, in  the  smaller  districts  report  to  and  co- 
operate with  committees  acting  for  larger  areas.  Within 
the  State  central  committee,  as  in  the  National  Com- 
mittee, a  smaller  executive  committee  wields  most  of  the 
power  and  does  most  of  the  actual  work  during  a  party 
campaign.  These  committees  have  charge  of  committee 
the  party  business.     They  are  expected  to  raise  ^or)s.. 

money,  employ  speakers,  distribute  literature,  call  cau- 
cuses and  meetings  of  party  workers,  organize  and  direct 
public  meetings,  see  that  their  party  voters  are  instructed 
as  to  their  legal  resident  requirements,  look  after  the  nat- 
uralization of  immigrants  and  the  registration  of  voters, 
call  the  regular  local  nominating  conventions,  or  primary 


204  Political  Parties  and  Party  Problems 

elections,  and  arrange  for  these ;  keep  in  correspondence 
with  and  carry  out  the  instructions  of  the  superior  com- 
mittees; arrange  for  the  election  by  appointing  their 
party  representatives  as  clerks  and  judges  of  elections; 
and  to  attend  to  whatever  else  may  arise  in  the  conduct 
of  the  campaign. 

All  this  indicates  the  extent  and  completeness  of  the 
party  organization.  The  organization  is  so  complete  and 
certain  that  the  National  Committee  and  its  bureau  of 
information  may  be  in  direct  touch  and  communication 
with  any  city  ward,  or  with  any  rural  district  of  the  re- 
motest township  in  any  county  of  any  State  in  the  Union. 

The  part  played  by  the  candidate  in  the  campaign  is 

important.     His  letter  of  acceptance  and  his  speech  made 

in  response  to  the  official  notification  of  his 

date  in°he      nomination  may  be  the  opening  notes  of  the 

Campaign.      campaign.     The  notification  speech  has  been 

Letter  of  j      •      i    .  .1  ■  r  ,  , 

Acceptance  made  m  late  years  the  occasion  of  a  great  party 
andNotifica-   ^ally  and   demonstration.     The  formal  letter 

tion  Speech.  .,,   r    ,1  t         r  1  i 

Will  follow  some  weeks  after  the  speech  at  noti- 
fication. These  two  contributions  of  the  candidate  are 
important  party  documents  for  the  campaign.  In  his 
letter  he  formally  accepts  the  nomination,  endorses  the 
principles  of  the  platform,  and  endeavors  to  put  his  par- 
ty's position  in  as  strong  a  light  as  possible  before  the 
voters.  The  candidate  seldom  ventures  to  dissent  from 
the  party  platform ;  but  he  may,  in  his  speech  or  letter, 
emphasize  one  of  the  issues  and  endeavor  to  make  it 
"paramount"  in  his  candidacy;  and  by  his  record  and 
opinions  on  public  questions  he  may,  in  a  measure,  be 
something  more  or  less  than  his  party.  Mr.  Cleveland, 
unlike  his  party  platform  in  1892,  represented  no  uncer- 
tain position  on  the  silver  question,  while  Mr.  Bryan 
was  in  thorough  accord  with  his  platform  in  1896.  In  a 
measure,  Mr.  Cleveland,  in  his  candidacy  and  in  his  letter 
of   acceptance^   virtually   modified   the   platform  of   his 


The  Conduct  of  the  Campaign       205 

party.  This  practice  would  tend  to  reduce  the  impor- 
tance of  the  platform  and  to  give  the  candidate's  personal 
record  and  his  letter  of  acceptance  an  equal  or  greater 
weight  with  the  voters  in  their  judgment  of  the  party's 
intentions.  The  platform — the  official  creed  of  the  party 
— has  come  to  be  looked  upon  as  a  mere  play  at  politics, 
as  a  declaration  "to  get  in  on,  not  to  stand  on."  *  Nor- 
mally the  country  should  expect  the  candidate  and  the 
platform  to  be  in  harmony,  but  they  are  not  always  so. 
Sometimes,  when  a  candidate  is  "stronger  than  his 
party,"  he  may  force  a  declaration  in  harmony  with  his 
views  from  convention  managers  who  would  otherwise 
dodge  or  straddle.  Douglas  declared  that  he  would  re- 
fuse a  nomination  on  a  platform  acquiescing  in  Southern 
demands  on  slavery  in  i860,  and  Mr.  Bryan's  views  de- 
termined his  party  platform  in  1896.  In  1852,  the  Whigs 
endorsed  the  Fugitive  Slave  Law  and  at  the  same  time 
nominated  a  military  hero  thought  to  be  acceptable  to 
anti-slavery  Whigs.  Some  of  the  Northern  Whigs  said 
that  they  "would  vote  for  the  candidate  but  spit  on  the 
platform."  The  candidate  and  the  platform  should  not 
leave  the  voter  "in  a  strait  betwixt  two,"  but  in  case  he 
is  so  left,  the  voter  will  be  inclined  to  accept  the  candi- 
date and  disregard  the  platform.  The  voters  will  be 
fooled  who  trust  to  platforms  and  not  to  men.  However, 
no  worthy  candidate  will  seek  to  get  in  on  a  platform  in- 
tended to  mislead  and  deceive. 

All  this  thorough  organization  and  the  vast  amount  of 
work  the  committees  do  will  indicate  what  is  involved  in 
a  campaign  of  education.  It  may  not  all  be  campaign  of 
education  in  the  right  direction,  but  it  involves  Education, 
reaching  by  some  influence  the  heart  and  will  of  the 
whole  nation.  The  campaign  is  a  vast  school  of  instruc- 
tion, and  people  heed  instruction  from  platform  and  press 

*  See  Ford's  Rise  of  American  Pelitics,  chap,  xvi.,  and  Bradford's  Papu* 
lar  Government,  chapter  on  "  The  Spirit  of  Party,"  p.  507. 


2o6  Political  Parties  and  Party  Problems 

who  take  but  little  interest  in  public  discussion  at  other 
times.  It  would  not  be  difficult  to  show  that  the  benefits 
of  such  a  campaign  outweigh  its  evils. 

The  aims  of  this  permanent  working  organization  have 
been  named  as  follows  * : 

1.  Union. — The  organization  strives  to  keep  the  party 
together  to  prevent  schism  and  dissension.  The  organiz- 
ing managers,  therefore,  will  strive  to  suppress  discussion 
within  the  party  on  a  divisive  question,  to  urge  the  duty 
of  party  loyalty,  and  to  hold  in  line  the  traditional  sup- 
porters of  the  party.  The  National  Committee,  through 
its  agents,  often  intervenes  within  a  State  to  allay  strife 
and  dissension;  and  the  State  committees  may  bring 
similar  party  pressure  to  bear  within  a  county  where  fac- 
tions are  rending  the  party  and  endangering  success. 
And  many  party  voters  who  have  protested  vigorously, 
during  the  early  months  of  the  campaign,  that  they 
'* would  never,  no,  never,"  support  the  party  again  under 
the  course  it  is  pursuing,  have  been  "whipped  into  line  " 
by  the  various  tactics  of  the  campaign  managers. 

2.  Recruiting. — To  bring  in  new  voters,  to  look  after 
the  immigrants,  the  first  voters,  and  the  newcomers  in  a 
community.  It  is  expected  that  the  party  attitude  of 
every  voter  in  every  precinct  shall  be  reported  to  general 
headquarters. 

3.  Enthusiasm. — To  quicken  the  indifferent,  to  combat 
general  apathy,  to  arouse  the  voters  to  sympathy  and 
The"Stm  action.  Sometimes  the  managers  pursue  the 
Hunt."  policy  of  a  "still  hunt,"  or  conduct  a  "gum- 
shoe "  campaign.  That  is,  they  quietly  and  privately  in- 
terview as  many  voters  as  possible  personally,  distributing 
party  speeches  and  influencing  the  voters  by  quiet  tactics. 
Voting  precincts  are  generally  so  subdivided  that  there 
will  be  a  limited  number  of  voters  to  a  precinct,  not  to 
exceed,  say,  two  hundred  and  fifty.     The  party  faith  and 

*Bryce,  American  Commonwealth. 


The  Conduct  of  the  Campaign        207 

loyalty  of  the  majority  of  these  will  be  well  known.  They 
need  no  attention  from  the  party  workers.  From  their 
ranks  the  party  workers  are  drawn.  Probably  thirty  or 
forty  voters  of  the  precinct  are  to  be  worked  upon.  Some 
can  be  bought ;  some  need  literature,  or  persuasion,  or  a 
friendly  interview  with  the  right  man.  If  there  are 
"floaters  "  they  are  probably  "divided  into  blocks  of 
five,"  and  each  block  placed  in  charge  of  some  "trusty 
man."  The  party  committeeman  from  the  precinct 
secures  a  private  meeting  of  eight  or  ten  reliable  party 
workers,  the  doubtful  voters  are  canvassed,  and  each 
party  worker  is  given  a  list  of  names  of  four  or  five  voters, 
and  he  is  made  responsible  for  bringing  every  available 
effective  influence  upon  his  men  to  see  that  they  vote 
right.  Of  course,  all  this  is  done  without  any  suggestion 
of  it  to  the  community.  This  kind  of  party  work  is 
carried  on  in  any  kind  of  campaign  whether  it  be  a  "still- 
hunt  "  campaign  or  one  of  excitement  and  noise.  The 
party  managers  know  that  the  quiet,  personal  work  is  the 
most  effective.  The  "still-hunt  "  policy  is  apt  to  be  pur- 
sued in  a  community  by  the  party  in  the  minority  with 
the  design  of  preventing  the  party  lines  from  being 
closely  drawn,  or  party  passions  and  prejudices  being 
greatly  aroused  and  inflamed.  By  this  method  voters  of 
the  majority  party  in  the  community  are  induced  to  vote 
for  candidates  of  the  minority  party  for  local  offices,  and 
it  is  hoped  that  many  indifferent  voters  of  the  majority 
will  not  be  sufficiently  aroused  to  go  to  the  polls  to  vote. 
On  the  other  hand,  the  other  method  of  cam- The  "Hurrah •• 
paign,  called  the  "whoopla"  or  "hurrah"  campaign, 
campaign,  has  for  its  purpose  the  arousing  of  the  rank 
and  file  from  their  indifference  and  lethargy,  the  stirring 
of  their  party  spirit,  and  the  drawing  of  party  lines.  The 
managers  seek  to  arouse  the  party  enthusiasm  by  means 
of  meetings,  speeches,  bands,  parades,  rallies,  barbecues, 
and  grand  demonstrations,  all  designed  to  excite  the  voter 


2o8  Political  Parties  and  Party  Problems 

to  shout  with  party  loyalty  and  to  vote  with  his  party 
crowd. 

4.  Instruction. — This  is  a  fourth  aim  of  the  party  or- 
ganization. Voters  must  be  instructed  in  the  knowledge 
of  the  political  issues;  they  must  be  given  information 
about  their  leaders,  and  about  the  wrongs  of  their 
opponents. 

All  of  these  things  require  a  vast  amount  of  campaign 
work.  The  various  sub-committees  appointed  by  the 
National  Executive  Committee  all  have  their  allotted 
work. 

The  Committee  in  charge  of  the  bureau  of  speakers 
will  appoint  men  to  speak  in  different  parts  of  the  coun- 
try, usually  directing  men  of  national  reputation  to  speak 
in  those  States  which  are  considered  most  doubtful. 

The  committee  in  charge  of  literary  and  press  matter 
and  the  committee  on  distribution  and  documents  de- 
termine upon  the  character  of  the  documents  that  are  to 
be  distributed  among  the  voters.  The  preparation  of 
party  literature  is  carried  on  throughout  the  campaign. 
Thousands  of  leaflets,  pamphlets,  and  documents  are 
compiled,  setting  forth  facts,  figures,  and  arguments  for 
the  party.  A  "Campaign  Text-Book  "  is  distributed,  an 
arsenal  of  facts  and  arguments  especially  for  the  use  of 
Campaign  party  speakers, — the  "spell-binders,"  as  they 
Literature.  are  Called  in  the  campaign  slang.  This  litera- 
ture is  not  mailed  directly  to  individuals  from  the  lit- 
erary bureau,  though  it  may  be  had  on  application,  but  it 
is  shipped  in  bulk  by  the  carloads,  to  the  chairmen  of  the 
State  and  local  committees,  who  attend  to  its  distribution 
among  those  with  whom  it  will  do  the  most  good.  In 
1896,  the  cost  of  this  part  of  the  work  for  one  of  the  par- 
ties was  estimated  at  over  $700,000,  while  in  1900  it 
reached  the  million-dollar  mark. 

In  addition  to  public  speaking  and  the  dissemination  of 
documents,  the  party  committees  have  come  in  later  years 


The  Conduct  of  the  Campaign        209 

to  make  a  larger  use  of  the  party  press,  by  the  insertion 
of  news  articles  and  editorials  in  the  weekly  and  daily 
papers  of  the  country.  This  is  the  most  effective  form  of 
campaigning,  and  the  machinery  for  it  is  elaborate  and 
ingenious.  Good  campaign  articles  are  made  up  for  the 
newspapers.  Stereotyped  matter  is  sent  to  thousands  of 
papers,  "patent  insides  "  are  furnished  to  the  country 
press,  while  to  metropolitan  papers  proof-slips  are  sent  to 
be  used  at  the  editors'  discretion. 

"All  loyal  party  papers,  especially  the  papers  seeking  the 
party  patronage  and  the  local  country  printing,  print  this  mat- 
ter. Many  country  papers  have  no  other  political  The  Party 
discussion  than  that  furnished  from  political  head-  ^ess. 

quarters.  Nearly  one  thousand  papers  print  these  furnished 
articles  regularly.  No  matter  what  the  subject  of  the  article, 
the  net  result  is  the  earnest  exhortation  to  vote  the  party 
ticket.  The  press  bureaus  of  the  parties  furnish  Independent 
papers  articles  for  a  *  Daily  Debate, '  contributed  by  able  ad- 
vocates on  either  side.  This  demand  on  the  party  managers 
is  new  to  politics  and  has  made  necessary  an  increase  in  the 
literary  force.  But  both  parties  welcome  this  means  of  putting 
the  party  creed  before  the  voters  whose  minds  are  not  fully 
made  up."  * 

In  this  instruction  of  voters  by  literature,  sectional, 
race,  and  religious  prejudices  are  always  considered. 
Different  matter  will  be  sent  to  Colorado,  Wyoming,  and 
California  than  that  sent  to  Philadelphia,  New  York,  or 
Boston.  There  are  special  messages  for  negroes,  for 
Germans,  for  the  Irish,  and  the  Scandinavians ;  and  the 
religious  papers  are  supplied  with  sermons  turning  on 
political  questions.  Cartoons  and  large  placards  are  pub- 
lished and  sent  broadcast  throughout  the  land. 

*  Willis  J.  Abbott,  American  Review  of  Reviews ,  Nov.,  1900,  "The 
Management  of  the  Democratic  Campaign." 


210  Political  Parties  and  Party  Problems 

Public  speaking  is  an  important  means  employed  for  in- 
struction and  enthusiasm.  Before  the  campaign  opens  a 
Campaign  Complete  list  is  made  up  of  the  best  available 
Speaking.  party  speakers.  Many  of  these  are  paid  sala- 
ries as  well  as  their  expenses.  Among  these  are  the  or- 
dinary "schoolhouse,  or  cart-tail  spell-binder,"  as  well  as 
the  great  oratorical  stars,  the  distinguished  United  States 
Senators,  or  the  party  candidates,  like  Mr.  Bryan  or  Mr. 
Roosevelt,  in  the  campaign  of  1900.  In  1900,  over  six 
hundred  pa^ty  orators  were  managed  from  the  Chicago 
headquarters  of  the  Democratic  party.  The  Committee 
managers  must  lay  out  the  route  for  these  speakers,  avoid 
conflicts,  and  seek  in  every  way  to  use  the  men  where 
they  will  do  the  most  good.  Speakers  to  city  audiences 
are  sent  forth  in  all  languages.  In  the  ten  days  immedi- 
ately preceding  the  election  of  1900  it  is  estimated  that  as 
many  as  seven  thousand  Republican  speeches  were  made 
every  week-day  night.  Accompanying  these  are  parades 
and  rallies,  bands  and  barbecues,  to  arouse  public  excite- 
ment and  party  spirit.  With  all  this  "arousement  "  of  the 
party  forces,  the  shrewd  managers  provide  for  calling  the 
tried  and  true  party  workers  together  for  a  conference, 
for  a  "heart  to  heart  "  talk.  It  is  in  these  conferences 
that  the  smooth  and  unseen  hand  of  the  manager  lays 
out  campaign  work  for  the  *  *  boys  * '  that  cannot  well  en- 
dure the  light  of  day. 

During  all  this  campaign  work  the  party  chairman  or 
manager  must  decide  important  party  matters.  He  must 
review  the  reports  from  the  field  and  decide  what  States 
may  be  considered  as  safe  and  what  States  need  more 
effort  and  energy.  The  National  Campaign  Committee 
receives  almost  daily  reports  from  the  State  committees. 
In  every  State  local  committees  are  at  work  so  that  not 
an  inch  of  ground  is  left  uncovered.  Local  committees 
report  to  the  State  committees,  which  in  turn  report  to 
the  campaign  committee,  so  that  the  chairman,  the  com- 


The  Conduct  of  the  Campaign        211 

mander-in-chief,  is  kept  constantly  in  touch  with  the  con- 
ditions all  over  the  country'  from  week  to  week.  In  the 
doubtful  States — the  real  fighting-ground — a  systematic, 
virtually  house-to-house  canvass  is  made,  so  that  in  such 
a  State  as  Indiana,  for  instance,  every  voter  will  have  a 
chance  to  hear  the  party  argument  and  feel  the  party  in- 
fluence, and  the  campaign  committee  may  be  able  to  tell 
within  a  very  few  thousand  votes  how  the  State  will 
throw  its  more  than  six  hundred  thousand  votes. 

The  detailed  and  laborious  work  of  the  campaign,  and 
the  thoroughness  with  which  the  network  of  committees 
operates,  may  be  seen  from  a  few  items  taken  from  the 
careful  instructions  sent  out  by  a  State  committee  of  one 
of  the  parties.  The  party  agents  throughout  the  State 
were  instructed  as  follows : 

1.  Ascertain  the  general  condition  of  the  organization. 

2.  Ascertain  if  a  poll  of  the  county  has  been  secured. 

3.  If  not,  how  soon  will  a  poll  be  completed  ? 

4.  If  partially  completed,  cause  of  failure  to  complete. 

5.  Ascertain  the  townships  that  have  not  been  completed. 

6.  Ascertain  if  the  chairman  has  visited  the  precinct  com- 
mitteeman and  urged  him  to  complete  the  work. 

7.  Ascertain  if  the  poll  is  made  by  calling  on  each  voter,  or 
is  written  up  from  general  knowledge  of  each  voter's  politics. 

8.  If  the  poll  is  made  without  calling  on  each  voter  and 
finding  out  how  he  will  vote,  how  can  they  expect  to  have  a 
reliable  poll  ? 

•  9.  Ascertain  if  they  are  looking  after  voters  classified  as 
doubtful,  and  how. 

10.  Ascertain  if  they  are  looking  after  voters  classified  as 
' '  People's  party"  where  they  have  heretofore  acted  and  worked 
with  us,  and  how  they  expect  to  reclaim  them. 

11.  The  chairman  should  furnish  the  name  and  ad- 
dress to  the  State  committee  of  those  who  are  now  in  line 
with  the  People's  party,  so  they  can  be  supplied  with 
literature. 


212  Political  Parties  and  Party  Problems 

12.  Ascertain  how  many  party  clubs  have  been  organized, 
and    urge  the  organization  of  clubs  in  each  township  at  once, 

13.  Ascertain  if  the  county  committee  furnishes  their  local 
paper  to  our  party  voters. 

14.  Ascertain  if  any  other  papers  are  furnished. 

15.  If  not,  urge  the  committee  in  our  counties  to  subscribe 
and  to  furnish  two  hundred  to  five  hundred  copies  of  their 
local  party  papers  to  voters  that  are  not  taking  the  paper,  also 
to  subscribe  for  one  hundred  to  two  hundred  party  organs. 

16.  If  a  committee  has  secured  a  perfect  poll,  organized 
clubs  in  each  township,  supplied  our  party  voters  with  news- 
papers, they  will  then  be  in  a  position  to  receive  prompt  atten- 
tion from  the  committee. 

17.  Ascertain  if  there  is  any  local  trouble,  the  cause  of  the 
same,  and  what  the  State  committee  can  do  to  harmonize  the 
same. 

18.  Have  the  chairman  make  out  lists  of  names  and  ad- 
dresses of  German  Lutheran  voters,  and  mail  the  same  to  the 
State  committee. 

The  expenses  of  such  a  campaign  are  beyond  calcula- 
tion. No  one  knows  save  those  connected  with  the 
Campaign  National  Committee  how  enormous  are  the  ex- 
Expenses.  penditures  required.  The  purely  legitimate 
expenses  are  very  large.  The  printing  and  distribution 
of  one  important  speech  has  amounted  to  as  much  as 
$5000.*  Senator  Hanna  estimated  the  Republican  bill  for 
printing  alone  in  1900  at  $200,000.  At  headquarters,  in 
New  York  and  Chicago,  occupying  rooms  that  call  for 
high  rents,  there  are  from  forty  to  one  hundred  employee's. 
When  one  thinks  of  the  halls,  special  trains,  bands  rand 
banners,  printing  bills,  speakers'  pay  and  expenses,  and 
the  ** pools**  contributed  just  before  the  election  by  f  arty 
advocates  and  candidates  (to  say  nothing  of  the  candi- 
dates* personal  expenses),  it  will  be  seen  that  what  a 
campaign  costs  in  money  is  indeed  beyond  estimate.     It 

'  W.  J.  Abbott,  Review  of  Reviews, 


The  Conduct  of  the  Campaign        213 

is  safe  to  say  that  in  a  single  State  $250,000  would  not 
cover  the  expenditure  of  one  party,  distributed  through 
State  and  local  committees. 

Speaking  of  the  closing  days  of  an  American  presiden- 
tial campaign  an  English  writer  says : 

**  I  can  never  forget  the  last  day  of  October,  1896,  when,  as 
the  climax  to  a  passionate  campaign,  New  York  closed  up  its 
stores  and  workshops,  and  threw  its  whole  strength  campaign  of 
into   a   triumphant   demonstration  of  faith.     One  1896. 

hundred  and  twenty  thousand  men — merchants,  lawyers,  pub- 
lishers, railroad  potentates,  the  heads  of  every  trade  and  pro- 
fession— tramped  between  a  million  spectators  over  five  miles 
of  Broadway  pavements  to  testify  their  belief  in  their  party 
cause.  In  the  line  I  was  permitted  to  join  were  the  chiefs  of 
one  of  the  largest  publishing  firms  in  the  country,  the  editors 
of  two  famous  journals,  an  ex-Cabinet  Minister,  and  an  author 
and  artist  of  international  fame  —  all  bearing  the  Stars  and 
Stripes,  and  decorated  with  horrifying  *  gold  bugs, '  and  fantas- 
tic badges,  ribbons,  and  flowers  of  the  same  inspiring  hue. 

**  Of  the  many  thousands  who  must  have  watched  that  pro- 
cession without  sympathizing  with  its  purpose,  not  one  ventured 
by  so  much  as  a  jeer  to  interrupt  its  march.  It  summed  up  in 
itself  all  the  characteristics,  good  and  bad,  of  American  elec- 
tioneering; and  outside  the  States  I  do  not  suppose  that  any- 
thing like  it  would  be  possible.  In  England,  at  any  rate,  it 
would  be  simply  unimaginable.  It  might  begin  in  a  parade, 
but  it  would  certainly  end  in  a  riot.  One  could  not  help  won- 
dering whether  the  result  obtained  was  worth  all  the  time, 
money,  and  effort  spent  in  producing  it.  But  Americans  be- 
yond question  are  without  rivals  in  the  art  of  directing  cam- 
paigns, and  one  must  be  satisfied  with  thinking  that  they  know 
quite  well  what  they  are  about  when  they  select  *  booming '  as 
their  favorite  weapon  of  offence."  * 

The  single  fateful  day  for  which  all  this  extensive  or- 
ganization exists  and  for  which  this  expensive  preparation 

'Sydney  Brooks  on  "English  and  American  Elections,"  Harper's 
Monthly^  August,  igcx). 


2  14  Political  Parties  and  Party  Problems 

is  made  is  "the  first  Tuesday  after  the  first  Monday  in  No- 
vember "  of  the  election  year.  From  this  point  the  elec- 
The  Election.  ^^^^  process  is  Constitutional,  under  forms  and 
requirements  established  by  the  Constitution 
and  the  law,  rather  than  by  party  agencies.  But  the 
parties  guard  the  proceedings  at  all  stages.'  The  State 
supplies  the  ballot,  but  the  party  officials  certify  to  the 
electoral  candidates,  making  sure  that  all  the  names  of  the 
loyal  party  candidates  are  in  place.  In  the  actual  conduct 
of  the  election  the  party  organizations  are  the  chief  factors. 
The  inspector  of  the  election  board  will  be  a  township 
trustee,  or  some  other  public  officer  appointed  or  elected 
by  party  influence  and  party  process,  and  the  judges  and 
clerks  are  appointed  by  party  committeemen  or  at  the 
behest  of  party  interests.  The  election  boards  are  con- 
stituted, unfortunately,  not  for  the  purpose  of  guarding 
the  public  interests  by  seeing  that  there  is  an  honest  and 
fair  election,  but  for  the  purpose  of  promoting  and  safe- 
guarding party  interests.  The  agents  of  the  two  large 
parties  are  there  to  keep  one  another  in  check.  Third 
parties  are  not  represented,  though  in  some  States  they 
are  allowed  watchers  at  the  count.  Unless  the  election 
is  unusually  close  the  result  of  the  balloting  throughout 
the  nation  will  be  known  on  the  morning  following  the 
election.  A  nation  with  an  aggregate  of  more  than 
fifteen  million  voters  under  the  operation  of  party  govern- 
ment will  have  chosen  its  chief  Executive. 

REFERENCES  ON  PARTY  GOVERNMENT 

1.  "  The  Place  of  Party  in  the  Political  System,"  Anson  D.  Morse, 

Annals  of  the  American  Academy,  Nov.,  1891,  vol.  ii.,  No.  3. 

2.  "Party  Government,"  Charles  Richardson,  Annals  of  the  American 

Academy,  March,  1892. 

3.  "On  the  Method  of  Choosing  the  Electors,"  American  Historical  Re- 

view,  vol.  v..  No.  2,  p.  265  (January,  1900). 

'  See  chapter  on  "  The  Presidency,"  in  The  American  Republic  and  Its 
Government,  p.  117  sq. 


The  Conduct  of  the  Campaign        215 

4.  "  The  Party  Organization,"  by  Prof.  Jesse  Macy,  in  Chicago  Record, 

Home  Study  Circle,  1900 

5.  Republican  Campaign  Text-Book,  1900. 

6.  Official  Proceedings  of  the  Republican  National  Convention,  1900,  and 

of  the  Democratic  Conventions,  1896,  1900. 

7.  OsTROGORSKi,  M.,  "The  Rise  and  Fall  of  the  Nominating  Caucus," 

American   Historical  Review,  January,   1900;  and  Democracy  and 
the  Organization  of  Political  Parties,  vol.  it.,   by  the  same  author. 

8.  Becker,  Carl,  "  The  Unit  Rule  in  Nominating  Conventions,"  Amer- 

ican Historical  Review,  October,  1899. 

9.  "On  Methods  of  Campaigning  in  England  and  America,"  see  Porritt's 

The  Englishman  at  Home. 

10.  Richard  Harding  Davis,  Our  English  Cousins,  chapter  ii. 

11.  Sydney   Brooks  on  "English  and   American   Elections,"  Harper's 

Monthly,  August,  iqoo. 

12.  George  A.  Gilbert,  "The  Connecticut  Loyalists,"  American  Histor- 

ical Review,  January,  1899. 

13.  George  W.  Julian,  "  The  First  Republican  National  Convention," 

American  Historical  Review,  January,  1899. 

14.  Charles   H.    Levermore,    "The  Whigs  of  Colonial  New  York," 

American  Historical  Review,  January,  1896. 

15.  "The  First  National  Nominating  Convention,"  John  S.  Murdock, 

American  Historical  Review,  J^ly^  1896. 

16.  "  The  Party  of  the  Loyalists  in  the  American  Revolution,"  MoSES 

CoiT  Tyler,  American  Historical  Review,  October,  1895. 

17.  Becker,    Carl,    "Nominations  in   Colonial   New  York,"  American 

Historical  Review,  January,  1901. 

18.  Ogden,  Rollo,  "  The  New  Powers  of  the  National  Committee,"  At- 

lantic Monthly,  January,  1902. 

19.  Ford,  Henry  J.,  The  Rise  and  Growth  of  American  Politics,  chap. 

xxiii,,  on  "Party  Organization." 

20.  Dallinger,  F.  W.,  "Nominations  for  Elective  Offices  in  the  United 

States,"  Harvard  Historical  Studies,  1897. 

21.  The  Elective  Franchise  in  the  United  States,  DuNCAN  C.  McMlLLAN, 

Questions-of-the-Day  Series. 

22.  O'Neil,  Charles  A.,  The  American  Electoral  System. 

23.  Remsen,  Daniel  S.,  Primary  Elections. 

24.  "  How    the    Republicans    Work    for    Votes,"   Review    of  Reviews, 

November,  1900. 

25.  "  Managing  the  Democratic  Campaign,"  Review  of  Reviews,  Novem- 

ber, 1900. 

26.  "  Running  a  Campaign   to  Win,"  by   Richard   Croker,    Collier's 

Weekly,    October,    1900.       Reprinted   in    the    Indianapolis   Press, 
October  25,  1900. 

27.  "  Party  Government  in  the  United  States ;  The  Importance  of  Gov- 


2i6  Political  Parties  and  Party  Problems 

emment  by  the  Republican  Party,"  by  Geo.  F.  Hoar,  The  Inter- 
national  Monthly,  October,  1900. 

28.  On  the  decline  of  the  old  Congressional  Caucus,  see  Niles's  Register^ 

vol.  iii.,  p.  17,  for  address  in  support  of  the  candidacy  of  DeWitt 
C.  Clinton  and  against  the  Caucus  system.  Also  Niles's  Register ^ 
vol.  xxi.,  p.  338,  for  the  editor's  expressions  of  opposition  to  "  that 
dirty  thing  called  a  caucus." 

29.  On  party  history  the  student  should  consult  Schouler,  Adams,  Mc- 

Master,  and  Rhodes,  in  their  Histories  of  the  United  States ;  the 
Statesmen  Series;  Qox^y'%  History  of  Political  Parties  j  Stanwood's 
History  of  the  Presidency  :  McKee's  Party  Platforms  ;  McClure's 
Our  Presidents  and  How  We  Make  Them  ;  Official  Proceedings  of 
the  National  Conventions,  and  Party  Campaign  Text-Books ;  Hay 
and  Nicolay's  Life  of  Lincoln;  Greeley's  American  Conflict;  Ben- 
ton's Thirty  Years'  View;  Blaine's  Twenty  Years  of  Congress ; 
Burgess's  Middle  Period,  Civil  War  and  Constitution,  Reconstruction; 
Hart's  Formation  of  the  Union ;  Wilson's  Division  and  Reunion, 
and  History  of  the  American  People  ;  Channing's  Students*  History 
of  the  United  States  ;  McLaughlin's  History  of  the  American  Nct- 
tion  ;  McMaster,  Thomas,  Fiske,  Montgomery,  Adams  and  Trent, 
in  their  School  Histories  of  the  United  Statis, 


PART  III 

ETHICAL  PROBLEMS  IN  PARTY  POLITICS 


217 


CHAPTER  XIV 

OUR  POLITICAL  MORALITY 

IN  another  volume,  in  discussing  the  **  principles  of 
the  fathers,"  we  had  to  do  chiefly  with  the  rights 
of  the  citizen/  In  the  present  chapter  we  consider  his 
duties.  It  is  well  to  do  as  our  fathers  did,  to  "  know 
our  rights  and  dare  maintain  them."  But  duties  are 
co-ordinate  with  rights.  Men  will  not  fight  for  their 
civic  rights  who  have  no  sense  of  their  civic  duties. 
Rights  cannot  be  maintained  if  duties  are  nesf- 

1  J        ^1  1  1    .  ,.   .  Political 

lected.      Ihey  go  together,  and  in  our  politi-      Duties  and 
cal  life  of  to-day  it  is  essential  that  emphasis  Pouticai 

^  Rights. 

be  laid  upon  our  duties  rather  than  upon  our 
rights.  When  a  man,  for  instance,  looks  upon  voting  as 
a  **  right  "  instead  of  a  duty,  he  is  apt  to  regard  his  vote 
as  his  property,  to  be  used  as  something  of  his  own,  to 
do  with  as  he  chooses,  without  public  responsibility.  A 
man's  vote  is  not  his  own ;  it  is  his  country's, — a  sover- 
eign weapon  entrusted  to  him,  not  merely  for  the  protec- 
tion of  his  own  rights,  but  to  be  used  for  the  defence  of 
his  country's  interests.  He  is  in  duty  bound  to  use  it 
for  the  defence  of  the  weak  and  for  the  protection  of  the 
highest  public  welfare.  It  is  so  with  all  his  rights ;  they 
all  involve  corresponding  duties  to  the  state. 

In  a  democratic  state  political  rights  cannot  be  secure 
unless  they  have  their  foundations  in  the  righteousness 

*  TAe  American  Republic  and  Its  Government^  chapter  i. 
219 


220  Political  Parties  and  Party  Problems 

of  political  life.  In  a  republic  under  universal  suffrage, 
— under  ** government  by  the  people," — there  are  certain 
requirements  essential  and  fundamental  to  the  continued 
safety  of  the  national  life.  If  the  people  are  to  rule  the 
state,  they  should  understand  the  conditions  on  which 
alone  this  can  be  done. 

1 .  The  people  must  be  intelligent.  "  If  a  people  expects 
to  be  ignorant  and  free  in  a  state  of  civilization,  it  expects 
Fundamental  what  ncvcr  was  and  never  can  be,"  says  Jeffer- 
Conditions  in  gon.  Jeffcrson,  "the  founder  of  the  University 
ernment.         of  Virginia,"  sought,  for  the  American  democ- 

1.  inteuigence.  i-^cy  that  he  gavc  his  life  to  establish,  an  educa- 
tion as  universal  as  the  liberty  which  he  held  to  be  the 
heritage  of  all  men.  The  people  may  be  ignorant  and  de- 
praved under  a  despotism  where  they  have  no  power  or 
responsibility,  but  a  democratic  state  with  universal  suf- 
frage must  provide  for  universal  education.  "Popular 
government  without  popular  education  is  but  a  prologue 
to  a  farce,  or  to  a  tragedy,  or  to  both,"  says  Madison. 
If  the  designs  of  the  false  leader  and  the  pleas  of  the  wily 
demagogue  are  to  be  recognized  and  exposed,  it  must  be 
by  educated  intelligence.  Every  true  citizen  will,  there- 
fore, do  all  he  can  to  promote  the  general  intelligence  of 
his  community.  It  is  for  this  reason  that  the  state  pro- 
vides schools  and  colleges  and  universities.  It  must  do 
so  in  its  own  defence,  that  its  citizens,  its  sovereign  rulers, 
may  be  intelligent. 

2.  The  people  must  be  virtuous.  Moral  character  is 
the  foundation  of  the  state.     If  the  people's  political 

2.  Pouticai  rectitude  and  integrity  are  sapped  and  under- 
virtue.  mined,  the  foundation  is  gone.  No  govern- 
ment can  live  when  the  sources  of  its  power  have  become 
corrupted.  As  long  as  the  hearts  of  the  people  are  right, 
the  nation  is  safe.  But  when  the  springs  of  our  national 
life  are  poisoned,  the  inevitable  result  is  decay  and  disso- 
lution, and  the  outcome  is  the  man  on  horseback  with  the 


Our  Political  Morality  221 

iron  hand  of  despotism,  or  a  plutocracy  where  the  people 
cringe  and  fawn  at  the  behest  of  those  who  have  money, 
or  places,  or  favors  to  bestow.  **When  virtue  dies  the 
man  is  dead."  It  is  so  with  the  nation. 

It  is  not  the  abundance  of  material  wealth,  but  the  cour- 
age of  the  national  conscience  that,  in  the  last  resort,  must 
be  relied  upon  to  save  the  national  life.  It  is  in  moral 
character  that  the  citizen  becomes  a  shield  of  defence  to 
the  state.  It  is  this  that  gives  him  devotion  and  sacrifice 
for  war,  courage  in  battle,  insight  and  boldness  in  leader- 
ship, and  the  manly  independence  to  enable  him  to  with- 
stand the  wiles  and  seductions  of  the  corruptionist. 

3.  The  people  must  h^  free.  They  must  not  be  re- 
strained by  power,  they  must  not  be  too  much  bound  by 
party;  they  must  not  be  bought  by  favor. 
This  involves  free  speech,  free  press,  free  as- 
sembly, free  petition,  a  free  ballot.  Without  these  there 
can  be  no  free  thought, — and  without  freedom  to  think 
there  can  be  no  freedom  in  government. 

* '  This  is  true  liberty,  when  free-born  men, 
Having  to  advise  the  public,  may  speak  free." 

Every  citizen  will  seek  to  preserve  this  liberty  at  all 
hazards.  Liberty  of  speech  and  of  the  press  may  be 
abused,  but  we  hold  it  safer  to  run  the  risk  of  this  abuse, 
holding  every  man  responsible  for  the  effect  of  his  words, 
rather  than  suffer  the  denial  of  freedom.  The  time  was 
when  great  thinkers  and  leaders  of  the  people  could  pub- 
lish their  thoughts  only  by  the  consent  of  the  royal 
licenser.  If  the  people  are  to  be  intelligent,  if  they  are 
to  understand  questions  of  government  and  public  poli- 
cies, there  must  be  free  discussion ;  there  must  be  much 
arguing,  much  writing,  many  opinions;  for  "opinion  in 
good  men  is  but  knowledge  in  the  making."  ''Give  me 
the  liberty,"  says  Milton,   "to  know,   to  utter,  and  to 


22  2  Political  Parties  and  Party  Problems 

argue  freely  according  to  conscience  above  all  liberties." 
Milton,  the  defender  for  all  time  of  free  speech  and  free 
Milton  on  teaching,  refers  to  his  visit  to  the  famous 
Freedom  of      Galileo,  e^rown  old  in  the  service   of   science, 

Thought  and     ^  ^  .  '  ^  ...  ,  .    ,  .         . 

Freedom  of  a  prisoner  to  the  Inquisition  for  thinking  in 
Teaching.  astronomy  otherwise  than  the  Franciscan  and 
Dominican  licenser  thought,"  and  as  he  contemplated  the 
servile  condition  of  thought  and  learning  in  other  lands 
Milton  made  his  immortal  plea  for  a  larger  freedom : 

"  No  man  can  teach  with  authority,  which  is  the  life  of 
teaching,  if  what  he  teaches  must  exist  only  at  the  discretion 
of  a  licenser.  It  is  a  reproach  to  the  people,  undervaluing  and 
vilifying  the  whole  nation,  for  it  treats  them  as  if  in  such  a 
weak  and  sick  state  of  faith  and  discretion  as  to  be  able  to 
take  nothing  down  except  through  the  pipe  of  a  licenser. 
Nothing  can  then  be  written  but  flattery  and  fustian.  .  .  . 
Liberty  is  the  nurse  of  all  great  wits,  that  which  rarefies  and 
enlightens  our  spirits,  like  the  influence  of  heaven;  it  en- 
franchises, enlarges,  and  lifts  up  our  apprehensions  degrees 
above  ourselves.  .  .  .  Although  all  the  winds  of  doctrine 
were  let  loose  to  play  upon  the  earth,  if  Truth  be  in  the  field 
let  us  not  misdoubt  her  strength.  Let  her  and  Falsehood 
grapple ;  whoever  knew  Truth  put  to  the  worse,  in  a  free  and 
open  encounter?  Truth  is  strong  next  to  the  Almighty;  she 
needs  no  policies,  nor  stratagems,  nor  licensings  to  make  her 
victorious ;  give  her  but  room,  do  not  bind  her  when  she  sleeps, 
for  then  she  speaks  not  true,  but  then  rather  she  turns  herself 
into  all  shapes  except  her  own."  * 

This  freedom  in  America  is  not  novi^  in  danger  from  ab- 
solute monarchs  and  despots.  But  it  may  be  threatened 
by  materialism  or  commercialism,  or  party  despotism,  or 
the  bribery  of  wealth.  Social  critics  assert  that  the  Am- 
erican plutocracy,  representing  the  great  combinations 
of  wealth,  now  owns  and  controls  the  metropolitan  press 
and  dominates  the  public  teaching  of  America ;  that  this 

*  The  Areopagitica. 


Our  Political  Morality  223 

tyrannous  power  has  even  ventured  to  lay  its  hand  on  our 
colleges  and  universities ;  that  college  and  university  and 
church  gifts  and  endowments  from  rich  men  are  only  a 
kind  of  hush-money,  and  that  the  professor  or  minister 
whose  salary  is  paid  from  these  gifts  is  a  kind  of  agent 
whose  business  is  not  the  investigation  and  dissemination 
of  truth,  but  the  defence  of  vested  interests  and  the  pre- 
vention of  social  and  political  changes.  To  some  this 
criticism  will  seem  to  describe  present  conditions  and 
tendencies;  to  others  it  will  seem  unjust  and  altogether 
too  dark  and  pessimistic.  In  any  case  all  thoughtful  men 
will  agree  that  if  liberty  is  not  safe  in  these,  its  securest 
strongholds,  the  decay  of  the  free  institutions  of  America 
will  be  rapid  and  certain.  Our  schools  and  colleges  and 
universities  and  legislative  halls  and  editorial  sanctums 
and  pulpits  and  voting  booths  must  resist  every  tyranny 
that  would  den}'-  the  freedom  of  thought  and  speech  that 
has  been  bequeathed  to  us. 

This  freedom  involves  economic  freedom.  The  people 
must  be  free  from  poverty  and  destitution.  A  man  can- 
not be  a  good  citizen,  he  cannot  be  free  and  Economic 
independent  and  a  strength  to  the  state,  with-  Freedom, 
out  a  livelihood,  without  a  home,  without  some  property 
or  business  or  occupation  or  some  interest  to  give  him 
concern  for  the  welfare  and  good  order  of  the  community. 

It  is,  therefore,  the  duty  of  the  state  to  preserve  an 
economic  condition  that  will  afford  to  every  honest  and 
willing  laborer  a  fair  and  equitable  living.  The  man  who 
is  always  on  the  ragged  edge  of  subsistence,  who  is  always 
living  from  hand  to  mouth,  and  who,  when  hard  times 
come,  falls  into  helplessness  and  pauperism, — such  a  man 
is  apt  to  make  a  very  poor  citizen.  You  cannot  appeal 
with  much  assurance  to  the  patriotism  and  public  spirit 
of  a  man  who  does  not  know  where  his  next  day's  liv- 
ing is  to  come*  from,  or  whether  his  wife  and  children  are 
to  have  a  shelter  over  their  heads  the  coming  winter. 


224  Political  Parties  and  Party  Problems 

Wealth  may  accumulate  without  much  harm,  provided  a 
reasonable  amount  of  it  remains  with  the  honest  working 
folk.  But  if  by  its  concentration  the  people  are  im- 
poverished, the  state  will  decay.  Every  honest  and 
self-respecting  citizen  should  have  an  opportunity  for 
self-support,  and  any  industrial  or  economic  condition 
that  prevents  this  is  a  menace  of  civil  and  political  dis- 
aster. The  voter  who  wishes  **  the  glorious  privilege  of 
being  independent"  must  have  an  honest  living.  For  "an 
adequate  livelihood  is  the  one  sure  foundation  of  that 
honest  independence  which  is  not  only  one  of  the  greatest 
of  virtues,  but  the  fruitful  mother  of  virtues, — of  cour- 
age, tenacity,  endurance,  self-reliance,  thrift,  cheerfulness, 
hope."  '  The  man  who  by  honest  work  maintains  himself 
and  those  dependent  upon  him  in  an  adequate  livelihood 
has  realized  no  small  part  of  the  substance  of  citizenship. 
This  economic  livelihood  involves  economic  indepen- 
dence. The  laborer  supporting  himself  by  his  daily  wage 
Economic  must  be  as  free  to  follow  his  own  judgment 
Independence,  ^^d  conviction  as  his  rich  employer.  The  citi- 
zen cannot  be  free  if  he  is  dependent  on  another  for  "the 
privilege  of  earning  a  living. '  *  The  Duke  of  Newcastle, 
in  England,  less  than  a  century  ago,  turned  five  hundred 
of  his  tenants  out  of  the  houses  and  lands  they  occupied 
because  they  refused  to  vote  as  he  directed.  He  justified 
his  conduct  by  his  right  to  do  what  he  would  with  his 
own.  But  our  political  ethics  to-day  and  our  common 
sense  of  justice  repudiate  such  a  right.  If  a  landlord  or 
proprietor  or  capitalist  or  manufacturer  should  attempt 
such  coercion  now,  he  would  at  least  find  it  necessary  to 
conceal  his  action.  Public  sentiment  would  righteously 
denounce  him.  Such  a  man  would  be  marked  as  a 
mean  tyrant,  and  he  would  be  condemned  by  his  fellows. 
Every  influence  and  protection  should  be  used  to  fortify 

*  Maccunn,  Ethics  of  Citizenship,  p.  75.     The  student  of  political  ethics 
should  consult  this  thoughtful  and  valuable  work. 


Our  Political  Morality  225 

the  laborer  in  his  right  to  follow  his  independent  interests 
and  convictions.  Moral  influence,  compliance  and  def- 
erence of  the  ignorant  to  those  who  are  better  informed, 
voluntarily  following  trusted  advisers  and  leaders, — all 
these  are  legitimate  and  are  to  be  expected.  But  the 
laborer  in  humble  station  should  suffer  no  penalty  and 
receive  no  reward  from  his  wealthier  neighbor  for  his 
political  conduct.  The  laborer's  political  opinions  are 
not  hired.  To  control  the  political  conduct  of  another, 
whether  by  reward  or  punishment,  comes  under  the 
general  head  of  bribery  or  coercion.  It  is  a  denial  of  the 
citizen's  independence  and  freedom.  Personal  indepen- 
dence is  a  vital  and  essential  part  of  the  freedom  that 
must  be  preserved  to  the  people. 

4.  The  people  must  be  patriotic.  Patriotism  is  love  of 
country.  It  is  public  spirit, — the  spirit  that  leads  one  to 
devote  himself  to  the  service  of  the  commu- 

4.  Patnntism, 

nity.  It  does  not  involve  seeking  and  holding 
public  office,  though  one  may  be  able  to  perform  great 
patriotic  services  in  office.  It  does  not  always  involve 
going  to  war,  merely  to  defend  one's  country  against  ex- 
ternal enemies ;  though  on  the  field  of  battle  one  may 
perform  the  last  and  highest  act  of  patriotism, — he  may 
pay  "the  last  full  measure"  of  the  patriot's  devotion. 
It  does  not  involve  merely  devotion  to  one's  Government. 
The  Government  may  be  utterly  wrong,  subverting  by  its 
policy  the  country's  best  interest,  and  it  may  be  the  pa- 
triot's duty  to  use  his  best  endeavors  to  change  his  Gov- 
ernment's policy,  or  even  to  subvert  the  Government  itself 
and  thus  secure  for  his  country  an  opportunity  to  pursue 
its  highest  welfare.  Tolstoy  in  Russia  may  be  a  better 
patriot  than  the  Czar;  Pitt  and  Burke  and  Barr^  and 
Charles  James  Fox  were  better  patriots  than  George  III., 
though  by  their  bold  speech,  in  opposition  to  their  Gov- 
ernment, they  gave  moral  aid  and  comfort  to  the  Ameri- 
can Revolution  in  arms. 
15 


2  26  Political  Parties  and  Party  Problems 

Patriotism  requires  not  only  physical  courage  that  will 
lead  one  to  fight  and,  if  need  be,  to  die  in  the  service  of 
one's  country,  but  the  higher,  nobler  moral  courage  that 
will  lead  him,  if  need  be,  to  oppose  his  country's  Govern- 
ment in  a  wrongful  and  immoral  course.  It  has  been  said 
of  Charles  James  Fox  that  whenever  he  differed  from  the 
policy  of  his  Government,  "he  never  appeared  to  have  the 
smallest  leaning  or  bias  in  favor  of  his  country."  *  It  is 
not  necessary  that  the  patriot  should  be  so  indifferent. 
He  ought  to  have  a  leaning  in  favor  of  his  own  country, 
at  least  until  the  peaceful  federation  of  the  nations,  when 
it  may  be  said  that  his  "country  is  the  world,  his  country- 
men are  all  mankind."  But  as  he  may  love  his  family 
more  than  himself,  his  village  more  than  his  neighborhood, 
his  State  more  than  his  village,  his  country  more  than  his 
State, — as  a  higher  love  may  demand  his  allegiance  against 
a  lower, — so  he  may  love  God  and  all  mankind  more  than 
his  country.  It  is  a  noble  love  that  leads  one  to  die  for 
his  country,  not  that  his  country  may  be  saved  from 
bodily  harm  or  to  promote  its  material  aggrandizement, 
but  to  save  the  nation  as  a  noble  organ  of  service  for  God 
and  humanity.  Loyalty  to  country  may  not  override 
this  higher  loyalty.  As  the  patriot  must  love  God  su- 
premely, he  will  acknowledge  the  supreme  law  of  love  and 
righteousness,  and  he  will,  therefore,  stand  out  stoutly 
and  to  the  end  against  his  country's  pursuing  a  wrongful 
and  unjust  course.  We  are  sometimes  taught  that  if  our 
country  does  good  we  should  defend  and  protect  her;  if 
she  does  evil  we  should  still  defend  and  protect  her,  while 
striving  to  have  the  wrong  made  right.  At  all  hazards 
the  patriot  will  strive  to  have  the  wrong  made  right ;  for 
the  truest  defence  a  citizen  can  offer  his  country  is  to  pre- 
vent her  pursuit  of  an  unrighteous  course.  It  is  not  ma- 
terial prosperity,  nor  physical  strength,  nor  wealth,  nor 
arms,  but  righteousness  that  exalts  a  nation. 
*  Lecky,  American  Revolution,  p.  332. 


Our  Political  Morality  227 

It  is  such  patriotism  that  will  lead  us  to  cultivate  peace, 
justice,  brotherhood,  and  international  fairness.  Such 
patriotism  will  demand  honesty  in  the  public  service;  it 
will  denounce  as  traitorous  the  man  who  cheats  the 
nation  or  robs  the  public  treasury ;  or  who  by  trickery 
and  bribery  and  knavery  secures  legislation  for  selfish  ends 
against  the  public  interest;  or  the  able-bodied  "old 
soldier"  who  secures  a  pension  by  perjury  and  accepts 
pay  many  times  over  for  services  once  rendered,  and 
which,  it  was  supposed,  he  had  unselfishly  offered  to  the 
call  of  his  country.  The  man  who,  as  a  judge  or  an  ex- 
ecutive, takes  an  oath  to  execute  just  laws,  then  betrays 
his  trust  and  his  country  by  going  into  alliance  with  crimi- 
nals from  whom  he  takes  bribes  for  immunity,  is  a  traitor. 
There  is  no  higher  form  of  treason  than  this,  and  the  man 
who  does  it  deserves  to  take  his  place  in  public  estimation 
with  men  like  Benedict  Arnold,  who  are  willing  to  sell 
their  country  for  gold. 

Patriotism  was  once  denounced  as  the  **last  refuge  of 
a  scoundrel."  No  doubt  it  is  used  by  unscrupulous  men 
as  a  cloak  for  evil  practices  and  designs.  The  men  who 
do  these  things  cannot  be  patriots,  no  matter  how  much 
they  profess  to  honor  the  flag  or  how  conspicuous  they 
may  be  on  the  memorial  holidays  of  the  nation.  Patriot- 
ism loves  righteousness  and  hates  iniquity ;  it  bears  bur- 
dens ;  it  does  not  seek  special  favors ;  it  casts  out  fear  and 
selfishness,  and  seeks  the  welfare  of  all, — that  public  wel- 
fare which  is  the  highest  law. 

The  primary  and  fundamental  habits  of  civic  patriotism 
have  been  summarized  as  follows  * : 

"i.  To  strive  to  know  what  is  best  for  one's  country  as  a 
whole.  The  patriot  will  not  be  content  to  be  ignorant  of  his 
country's  welfare.  He  will  seek  to  know  something  of  the  in- 
stitutions of  his  country  and  their  workings ;  of  the  needs  of  the 

*  Mr.  Bryce,  in  Forum,  vol.  xv. 


^28  Political  Parties  and  Party  Problems 

community  and  its  management ;  of  the  laws  and  their  require- 
ments; of  public  officers  and  their  duties;  of  the  history  of  his 
country  and  its  great  men  and  of  the  principles  and  services 
for  which  they  have  stood. 

"2.  To  place  one's  country's  interest,  when  one  knows  it, 
above  party,  or  class,  or  sectional,  or  selfish  interest. 

"3.  To  be  willing  to  take  trouble,  personal  and  even  tedious 
pains,  for  the  well  governing  of  one's  country.  Whatever  the 
community  to  which  one  belongs,  be  it  township,  village,  city, 
state,  or  nation,  patriotism  involves  the  willingness  of  service 
and  sacrifice  for  the  common  good." 

Patriotism  does  not  stop  with  obedience  to  the  laws 
and  the  payment  of  taxes.  It  is  no  evidence  of  a  man's 
patriotic  citizenship  that  he  keeps  out  of  jail  and  out  of 
the  police  courts.  Patriotism  is  not  passive,  — a  mere  ab- 
staining from  evil.  It  is  not  merely  an  abstract  definition, 
or  a  feeling.  It  requires  expression,  not  merely  in  words, 
but  in  action,  in  deeds.  A  man's  patriotism  is  shown  by 
his  life,  not  only  in  private,  as  "the  just  man  who  lives 
honestly,  injures  none,  and  gives  every  man  his  due,"  but 
also  in  his  relation  to  his  public  duties, — in  speech,  in 
vote,  in  his  political  activity.  The  patriot  is  "the  one 
who  serves."  He  may  serve  the  community  in  attending 
political  conventions  and  caucuses  and  using  his  wits 
and  manly  courage  in  detecting,  exposing,  and  defeating 
evil  designs  calculated  to  injure  the  state. 

**  No  class  of  disputes  needs  more  a  judgment  undisturbed 
by  passion  than  international  ones.  Large  numbers  of  people 
think  it  unpatriotic  to  decide,  or  at  least  to  say,  that  their  own 
country  is  wrong  in  a  dispute  with  another.  Patriotism  has 
nothing  to  do  with  that  matter;  it  is  consistent  with  either 
view.  Patriotism  is  a  virtue  which  leads  a  man  to  sacrifice 
himself  for  the  good  of  his  country.  It  is  not  patriotism  to 
flatter  one's  own  countrymen,  or  to  assure  them  that  they  are 
right  in  what  they  are  doing.     That  is  merely  swimming  with 


Our  Political  Morality  229 

the  stream,  one  of  the  most  alluring  forms  of  indolence.  A 
man  is  not  a  patriot  because  he  desires  that  the  community  to 
which  he  belongs  shall  be  aggrandized  at  the  expense  of  other 
communities  to  which  he  does  not  belong.  To  desire  the  suc- 
cess of  a  cause  because  it  is  his  own,  and  not  because  it  is 
right,  is  a  form  of  selfishness  in  man.  *  My  country  right  or 
wrong  *  is  no  more  patriotic  than  '  Myself  right  or  wrong  *  is 
noble  and  unselfish.  The  maxim  is  essentially  selfish  and 
would  make  any  settlement  between  nations  impossible,  except 
by  war.  The  man  who  will  take  pains  to  find  where  lies  the  right 
and  wrongs  or,  it  may  be,  the  wise  or  the  unwise  course ;  the 
man  who,  being  convinced  that  the  existing  rulers  of  his  coun- 
try are  wrong  or  unwise,  has  the  courage  to  stand  up  and  say 
so,  who  confronts  rulers,  and  penalties,  legal  or  social,  and 
frowns  and  sneers  and  howling  multitudes ; — that  man  is  the 
patriot^  is  he  who  sacrifices  himself  for  his  country's  good."  * 

5.  In  addition  to  intelligence,  virtue,  freedom,  and 
patriotism,  and  in  order  to  maintain  these,  a  people  must 
have  religion.     Not  an  established  church,  nor 

....  ,  -  -111  \  S.  ReUgion. 

a  religion  imposed  and  sustained  by  law ;  but  a 
free  Church  in  a  free  State,  with  religion  and  the  essentials 
of  religious  unity  in  the  hearts  of  the  people.  Religion 
is  defined  as  **  the  life  of  God  in  the  soul  of  man."  The 
life  of  God  must  be  in  the  soul  of  the  nation.  The  nation 
has  a  soul ;  it  is  not  only  material,  it  is  spiritual.  The 
foundations  of  its  morality  and  virtue,  and  therefore  of  its 
spiritual  life,  are  in  its  religion.  Morality  and  religion  are 
inseparable  forces.  It  is  in  the  immovable  foundations 
of  morality  and  religion  that  a  nation  finds  its  oneness,  its 
permanence,  its  common  life.  There  has  been  no  greater 
saving  force  in  the  life  of  the  American  nation  than  pure 
religion, — faith  in  the  fatherhood  of  God  and  the  brother- 
hood of  man,  sympathy  for  the  poor,  and  unspottedness 

*  Lord  Hobhouse,  New  York  Independent,  Aug.  26,  1900.  See  also  an 
article  on  "Patriotism"  by  Professor  Goldwin  Smith  in  the  Independent^ 
July  3,  1902,  and  an  oration  of  George  William  Curtis.  Orations  and 
Addresses t  vol.  i. 


230  Political  Parties  and  Party  Problems 

from  the  world,  justice  and  integrity  with  their  founda- 
tions laid  in  eternal  and  immutable  laws.  Its  influence 
has  tended  to  give  the  people  unity  of  moral  ideals ;  to 
prevent  social  separateness  and  class  strife;  to  promote 
brotherhood  and  equality  of  opportunities ;  to  bring  the 
capitalist  and  the  laborer,  the  rich  and  the  poor,  into  mu- 
tual helpfulness  and  sympathy ;  to  prevent  anarchy  and 
the  lawlessness  of  mobs;  to  "establish  justice,  insure  do- 
mestic tranquillity,  provide  for  the  common  defence,  and 
insure  the  blessings  of  liberty  "  to  ourselves  and  our 
posterity. 

Government  began  in  America  '  *  In  the  name  of  God, 
Amen!  "  Such  was  the  immortal  beginning  of  the  com- 
pact on  the  Mayflower.  In  Virginia,  also,  it  was  recog- 
nized by  its  earliest  charters  that  those  who  were  to 
inhabit  its  precincts  were  "to  determine  to  live  together 
in  the  Fear  and  Worship  of  Almighty  God. "  And  in  the 
first  written  constitution  of  America,  being  also  the  first 
in  the  history  of  the  world,  it  was  expressly  recognized 
that  "to  mayntayne  the  peace  and  union  of  a  people 
there  should  be  an  orderly  and  decent  government  estab- 
lished according  to  God."  *  "Unless  the  Lord  build  the 
house  they  labor  in  vain  who  build  it,"  were  the  words  of 
Holy  Writ,  quoted  by  Dr.  Franklin  in  the  great  convention 
that  made  our  Constitution  in  1787,  as  he  suggested  divine 
guidance  in  the  deliberations  of  the  convention. 

If  the  religious  life  of  a  people  decays,  if  the  religious 
motives  no  longer  restrain  the  passions,  desires,  and  am- 
bitions of  a  nation,  the  people  sink  into  materialism  and 
selfishness,  incapable  of  service  or  of  sacrifice  or  devotion. 
A  State  will  arise  where  the  law  prevails  that  *' Might 
makes  right." 

It  is  well  said  that  of  all  forms  of  government  democ- 
racy is  most  dependent  on  religion.  What  will  do  more 
than  the  religious  spirit  to  promote  the  sense  of  personal 

'  Fundamental  Orders  of  Connecticut. 


Our  Political  Morality  231 

responsibility  in  the  exercise  of  political  rights?  To  vote 
in  the  fear  of  God  is  a  fine  restraint.  If  a  man  is  to  re- 
sist the  tyranny  of  the  king,  or  the  tyranny  of  wealth,  or 
the  tyranny  of  the  majority,  he  must  believe^ — he  must 
believe  that  his  conduct  will  be  counted  unto  him  for 
righteousness  and  that  **  there  is  a  Power  to  which  he  can 
ally  himself  and  be  invincible  "  *;  that  his  duties,  if  not 
his  rights,  are  divinely  appointed ;  that  God  reigns ;  that 
right  will  prevail;  that  by  justice  a  nation  shall  flour- 
ish, and  that  by  injustice  will  it  faint  and  fail. 

It  is  this  faith  that  will  help  the  people  to  see  that 
they  cannot  separate  their  politics  from  their  ethics,  nor 
their  ethics  from  their  religion ;  that  man's  life  is  one  and 
indivisible;  that  from  this  oneness  of  the  divine  life  in 
man  springs  the  moral  law,  a  law  that  applies  alike  to  a 
man's  business,  to  his  religion,  and  to  his  politics.  To 
reveal  that  law  and  to  teach  men  to  live  by  it  is  one  of 
the  functions  of  religion  and  of  the  religious  teacher  and 
prophet ;  and  by  nothing  is  the  decay  of  a  nation's  life 
more  surely  wrought  than  by  the  decay  and  corruption  of 
its  religion  and  by  the  worldliness  and  apostasy  of  its 
religious  teachers. 

These  fundamental  moral  qualities  in  a  democratic 
state  will  produce  in  the  people  a  love  of  order  and  a 
reverence  for  law. 

Law  and  order  are  essential  parts  of  true  con- 

rr^i  Ml       f      1  1  Political 

stitutional  freedom.  The  will  of  the  people,  Morauty 
like  the  will  of  the  king,  has  no  right  to  resist  involves  Love 

,       ,  ^  7      7  of  Order, 

or  to  be  set  above  the  law.  Government  by  law 
is  paramount  to  every  interest,  for  upon  this  all  other 
interests  depend.  There  can  be  no  freedom  without  it. 
The  long  struggle  of  our  fathers  for  constitutional  liberty 
has  been  a  struggle  to  secure  government  by  laws  rather 
than  government  by  men.  The  voice  of  the  people  right 
is  the  voice  of  God,  not  otherwise.     Intelligence,  virtue, 

*  Maccunn,  Ethics  of  Citizenship,  p.  84. 


232  Political  Parties  and  Party  Problems 

patriotism,  love  of  liberty,  religion,  are  the  moral  bul- 
warks for  the  state  because  they  all  unite  to  restrain  the 
people  from  lawlessness  and  anarchy  and  the  violence  of 
mobs.  To  any  great  and  fundamental  change  in  law  and 
government  the  people  must  proceed  by  the  processes 
and  under  the  restraints  of  constitutional  order  and  law. 
It  is  when  government  by  law  is  endangered  that  the 
rights  and  liberties  of  the  people  are  most  seriously 
threatened.  To  undermine  the  defences  of  law  is  to  lead 
inevitably  to  the  despotism  of  the  military  dictator  or  to 
the  despotism  of  anarchy  and  the  mob, — the  most  abhor- 
rent to  freemen  of  all  forms  of  social  disease.  Sometimes 
in  the  irrepressible  struggle  for  liberty  the  people  have 
.  ^  ^^  had  to  defend  or  recover  their  rights  by  arms 

And  Changes  *^  ^ 

in  the  State  by  against  the  violcnce  and  lawlessness  of  the  gov- 
ProcessofLaw,^j.j^jj^g  classcs,  and  no  doubt  the  people  have 
many  times  suffered  wrong  under  the  restrictions  of  con- 
ventional law.  But  in  a  free  and  intelligent  state,  rights 
are  to  be  won  and  great  changes  made,  not  by  bloodshed 
and  revolution,  but  by  means  of  public  discussion  and  the 
processes  of  public  law. 

This  reverence  for  law  will  cultivate  in  the  majority  a 
righteous  respect  for  the  rights  of  the  minority ; 
for  the  Rights  it  wiU  make  life  and  all  just  rights  of  property 
of  the  more  sacred;  and  in  times  of  social  progress 

and  change  it  will  make  the  people  radical  only 
when  they  are  sure  they  are  right  and  wisely  conservative 
from  fear  of  injustice  and  wrong. 

The  same  qualities  will  bring  leadership  to  the  people. 
Without  safe  leadership  popular  government  is  impos- 
Necessityof  siblc.  The  masscs  cannot  act  except  under 
Leadership  in  direction.  A  multitude  of  counsellors  may 
a  Democracy,  j^^^  ^^  safety,  but  without  wisc  guidance  the 
people  fall.  If  the  people  cannot  find  capable  leaders,  of 
courage,  of  educated  intelligence,  of  rectitude,  and  of  un- 
swerving devotion  to  the  people's  interests,  they  will  be 


Our  Political  Morality  233 

helpless  before  the  classes  that  represent  cunning  and 
power  and  that  would  exploit  and  oppress  the  people  for 
selfish  ends.  There  is  no  form  of  government  in  which 
rectitude  in  leadership  and  office  is  more  vital  than  in  a 
democracy.  The  people  may  mean  well  and  would  do 
right,  but  they  must  have  great  thinkers  for  the  solution 
of  their  problems  and  bold  and  devoted  leaders  for  the 
execution  of  these  solutions.  Political  agitators  and 
demagogues  often  proclaim  themselves  for  a  popular 
cause  and  declaim  on  the  people's  wrongs,  but  as  soon  as 
they  get  power  and  place  the  rich  and  powerful  classes 
buy  them  from  their  allegiance  and  induce  them  to  betray 
their  trust.  Having  climbed  to  power  by  popular  sup- 
port, they  kick  away  the  ladder  by  which  they  have 
ascended.  Being  betrayed  by  their  leaders  and  made  to 
feel  that  law  is  controlled  by  power  or  bought  by  wealth, 
the  people  lose  faith  in  law  and  government.  Thus  are 
begotten  distrust,  suspicion,  and  the  spirit  of  revolution 
and  anarchy. 

It  is  for  this  reason  that  the  moral  virtues  in  a  democ- 
racy are  so  vital,  and  it  is  for  this  cause  that  schools,  and 
colleges,  and  all  the  agencies  of  education  exist,  that 
young  men  may  be  trained  for  competent  and  faithful 
leadership  in  the  state.  The  safety  of  the  republic  de- 
pends not  upon  forms  of  government  nor  upon  the  agen- 
cies and  machinery  of  parties,  but  upon  the  constancy 
and  faithfulness  with  which  these  great  moral  principles 
are  exemplified  in  the  political  life  and  leadership  of  the 
people. 

*  See  Lyman  Abbott's  Rights  of  Man,  Maccunn's  Ethics  of  Citizenship, 
•*  Nations  and  the  Decalogue,"  Atlantic  Monthly,  May,  1900  ;  *'  A  Hidden 
Weakness  in  Our  Democracy,"  and  "  Democracy  and  Education,"  by  Vida 
D.  Scudder,  Atlantic  Monthly,  May  and  June,  1902. 


CHAPTER  XV 

AN  HONEST  BALLOT 

IT  IS  the  vital  moral  qualities  of  which  we  have  spoken  in 
the  preceding  chapter  that  must  be  relied  upon,  in  the 
last  resort,  for  the  solution  of  the  political  problems  con- 
fronting the  people.  They  need  emphasis  and  constant 
nourishment,  especially  in  a  republic  that  has  provided 
for  universal  suffrage.  So  wide  a  suffrage  presents  many 
difficulties  and  problems.  It  is  the  purpose  of  this  and 
the  following  chapters  to  discuss  briefly  some  of  the 
problems  under  universal  suffrage  in  relation  to  party 
organization  and  party  practice. 

First,  the  problem  of  the  suffrage  itself. 
Educational  and  property  qualifications  for  suffrage 
are  not  inconsistent  with  American  political  principles. 
The  Problem  Capacity  and  a  reasonable  interest  in  the  order 
of  Universal  and  good  government  of  the  state  are  not  un- 
touffrage.  democratic  or  unrepublican  prerequisites  to  the 
possession  of  the  suffrage.  During  much  of  our  history, 
and  in  some  of  the  States  at  the  present  time,  such 
qualifications  for  the  suffrage  have  been  imposed.  But 
democracy  does  require  that  whatever  qualifications  are 
imposed  should  be  applied  to  all  alike  and  that  all  should 
stand  equal  before  the  law.  A  property  qualification  is 
deemed  undemocratic,  since  by  the  principles  of  democ- 
racy power  inheres  in  the  people,  in  their  persons,  not  in 
their  holdings.     In  Great  Britain  a  man  may  vote  who 

234 


An  Honest  Ballot  235 

resides  in  a  house  or  tenement  that  will  rent  for  ;£"io 
a  year,  or  who  owns  land  worth  £^  a  year,  or  who  is 
a  mere  tenant  at  will  on  land  worth  ;£'i2  a  suffrage 
year.     Residence  in  a  district  is  not  required  Qualifications 

r  ,  •  A  1.      •  ^  in  England. 

for  voting.  A  man  may  vote  in  every  county 
where  he  holds  land,  except  in  the  county  where  he  votes 
because  of  his  residence.  Men  who  are  neither  household- 
ers, nor  ;^io  tenants,  nor  owners  of  land,  have  no  votes. 
More  than  1,500,000  men  are  shut  out  by  these  property 
qualifications, — sons  of  families  living  at  home,  men  living 
in  cheap  lodgings,  and  workmen  living  with  employers. 
This  is  a  very  wide  suffrage  for  England  compared  with 
the  aristocratic  conditions  prevailing  less  than  one  hun- 
dred years  ago,  when  Jeffersonian  democracy  was  strik- 
ing down  all  barriers  to  universal  suffrage  in  America. 
Under  these  property  qualifications  the  old  English  idea, 
or  practice,  is  preserved  of  regarding  political  power  as  at- 
taching to  property,  not  to  men.*  Democratic  America, 
though  at  first  following  this  practice,  has  now  definitely 
abandoned  it;  it  has  committed  itself  to  the  Basis  of  the 
principle  of  manhood  suffras:e, — one  man,  one      Suffrage  in 

«  .  ,•  ,  England  and 

vote.  Americans  are  more  disposed  to  assert  in  America 
the  rights  of  men ;  and  the  tendency  of  democ-  compared, 
racy  is  to  look  upon  the  suffrage  as  a  personal  right  as 
well  as  a  political  privilege.  Americans  proclaim,  in 
theory  at  least,  that  the  privilege  of  voting  pertains  to 
the  personality,  not  to  the  property,  of  men.  Both  by 
the  theory  and  practice  of  democracy  the  privilege  of 
voting  has  come  to  be  regarded  as  a  right  of  representa- 
tion. Representation  in  America  is  the  representation  of 
persons.  The  right  to  representation,  if  such  a  right  may 
be  claimed  at  all,  is  the  right  of  a  member  of  the  nation 
who  is  a  person.     The  fundamental  quality  of  the  act  of 

'  The  property  of  women  does  not  carry  the  privilege  of  the  suffrage,  a 
typical  English  inconsistency.  Their  laws  are  based  on  custom,  not  on 
general  principles. 


236  Political  Parties  and  Party  Problems 

voting  is  personality^  the  capacity  to  exercise  a  free  will  in 
helpint^  to  determine  the  course  of  the  government  and 
the  state* ;  that  is,  d, person  is  one  who  has  a  free  will, — 
one  whose  action  is  free  and  self-determined.  Children, 
the  dependent,  the  demented,  the  insane,  the  idiotic, 
the  intoxicated,  convicted  criminals,  are  not  allowed  to 
vote,  since  they  have  not  the  will,  the  conscious  self-de- 
termination and  freedom  of  a  person.  Aliens  are  usu- 
ally excluded,  because  voting  is  an  act  of  membership  in 
the  State.  Political  power  and  allegiance  go  together. 
Unless  the  State  may  demand  the  one  it  is  in  no  sense 
required  to  confer  the  other.  However,  in  some  of  our 
States  alien  residents  are  allowed  to  vote.  All  these 
classes,  together  with  the  voters  who  are  bribed  and 
coerced  in  elections,  are  not  free ;  their  wills  are  subjected 
to  the  wills  of  others. 

There  is  no  other  test  for  the  suffrage  so 
Basis  for         widc  and  fundamental.     Intelligence  and  prop- 
Manhood        ^^^y  qualifications  must  themselves  rest  upon 
this.      Blackstone  says : 

**  The  true  reason  of  requiring  any  qualification,  with  regard 
to  property  in  voters,  is  to  exclude  such  persons  as  are  in 
so  mean  a  situation  that  they  are  esteemed  to  have  no  will 
of  their  own.  If  it  were  probable  that  every  man  would  give 
his  vote  freely^  then  every  member  of  the  community  should 
have  a  vote.  This  can  hardly  be  expected  of  those  in  abject 
poverty,  or  of  such  as  are  under  the  immediate  dominion 
of  others;  therefore  all  popular  states  have  been  obliged  to 
establish  certain  qualifications  whereby  some  who  are  sus- 
pected to  have  no  will  of  their  own  are  excluded  from  voting. 
.  .  .  Only  such  are  entirely  excluded  as  have  no  will  of 
their  own." 

It  is  upon  this  ground  that  we  are  justified  in  imposing 
an  intelligence,  if  not  an  educational,  qualification  for  the 

*  This  argument  is  based  on  Mulford's  The  Nation^  p.  211. 


An  Honest  Ballot  237 

suffrage ;  for  ignorance  also  goes  very  far  toward  depriv- 
ing a  man  of  an  independent  will  and  self-direction,  and 
it  seems  unreasonable  to  allow  ignorance  equal  political 
power  with  knowledge. 

The  ethical  argument  for  a  wide  suffrage — as  wide  as 
personality  and  manhood — is  that  voting  is  involved  in 
the  right  of  self-government ;  that  it  promotes  patriotism 
and  leads  to  an  interest  in  public  affairs ;  that  it  tends  to 
remove  discontent  and  promote  a  feeling  of  partnership 
and  responsibility ;  that  civil  and  religious  liberty  depends 
upon  power,  and  that  the  community  or  body  of  men 
who  have  no  political  power  have  no  security  for  their 
political  liberty ;  that  the  suffrage  is  an  enlightening  and 
an  educational  agency,  and  that  only  by  active  citizenship 
can  the  political  virtues  be  developed. 

**  It  is  the  old  truth  that  one  learns  to  do  by  doing.  There 
is  no  other  way.  Here  is  seen  the  unreason  of  the  contention, 
that  no  man  is  entitled  to  the  enjoyment  of  political  rights  till 
he  is  proved  fit  to  exercise  them.  It  is  an  impossible  require- 
ment. Before  he  has  political  rights  no  man's  fitness  for  them 
can  be  proved.  There  may  be  certain  tests,  educational  or 
economic,  which  may  be  accepted  as  securities;  but  there  is 
only  one  proof  of  fitness, — the  experimental  proof  which  shows 
how  men  use  their  rights  after  they  have  them. ' '  ^ 

The  advocates  of  democracy  believe  that  the  experi- 
ment has  justified  the  assertion  of  the  American  principle, 
— the  principle  of  equality  at  the  ballot-box.  While  they 
recognize  that  the  state  must  define  the  qualifications  of 
the  elector  and  lay  down  the  conditions  on  which  the 
electorate  should  be  enlarged,  yet  they  insist  that  this 
should  be  done,  not  arbitrarily  nor  by  accident,  but  on 
the  recognized  democratic  principle  of  personal  equality. 

**  If  every  ordinary  unskilled  laborer,"  says  John  Stuart  Mill, 
**  ought  to  have  one  vote,  a  skilled  laborer  ought  to  have  two; 
'  Maccunn,  Ethics  of  Citizenship,  p.  103. 


27,S  Political  Parties  and  Party  Problems 

a  farmer,  manufacturer,  or  trader  should  have  three  or  four,  a 
lawyer,  physician,  surgeon,  a  clergyman,  a  literary  man,  an 
artist,  ought  to  have  five  or  six." 

This  is  a  rational  principle, — that  political  power  should 
conform  to  relative  capacity  or  importance.  But  it  is  a 
principle  to  which  that  of  manhood  suffrage  is  opposed, — 
namely,  that  all  freemen,  with  power  of  self-direction  and 
control,  shall  be  equally  members  of  the  State,  with  an 
equal  right  to  representation  in  the  body  determining  the 
policy  and  conduct  of  the  Government/ 

The  political  privilege  and  power  that  are  involved  in 

the  ballot  have  come  to  the  people  through  trial  and 

struggle.     A  free  ballot  is  wisely  called  "the 

the  "Right      right  preservative  of  all  rights."     If  this  right 

Preservative     cannot  be  preserved  all  rie^hts  may  be  lost.    To 

of  All  Rights."  ^  . 

deprive  the  voter  of  his  free  will  by  bribery  or 
intimidation  is  to  rob  him  of  the  manhood  on  which  his 
right  of  suffrage  depends  and  by  which  alone  he  can 
peacefully  defend  his  rights  of  person  and  property.  To 
prevent  the  freedom  of  elections  by  bribery  or  force  is  to 
strike  at  the  very  root  of  free  popular  government. 

There  is  no  more  vital  concern  to  American  political 
life  than  the  preservation  of  a  pure  ballot.  If  the  people 
cannot  be  protected  from  venality,  if  elections  are  to  be 
determined  by  bribery  and  the  use  of  money,  there  is  no 
possible  way  by  which  the  people  can  defend  their  rights 
and  interests  against  the  designs  of  unscrupulous  wealth 
and  power.  To  drive  voters  from  the  polls  by  bayonets 
is  to  deprive  freemen  of  their  liberty ;  to  buy  voters  at 

'  In  reference  to  suffrage  for  women,  it  is  obvious  that  Americans  are  as 
inconsistent  in  the  application  of  their  political  principle  as  are  the  English 
in  their  political  practice.  Whether  suffrage  be  based  on  property,  persons, 
or  capacity,  no  rational  ground  appears  for  the  exclusion  of  women  of 
property  who  wish  to  have  their  judgments  count  in  controlling  the  con- 
duct of  the  Government.  This  merely  illustrates  the  common  observation 
that  Americans,  like  their  English  cousins,  are  governed  not  by  theory,  or 
a  priori  principles,  but  by  experience  and  custom. 


Ethical  Problems  in  Party  Politics     239 

the  polls  with  money  is  no  less  a  perversion  of  freedom. 
While  popular  elections  are  controlled  by  corruption,  the 
people  are  only  nominally  free,  as  under  such  conditions 
their  so-called  freedom  becomes  merely  the  instrument  of 
their  own  enslavement. 

Herein  is  the  great  danger  of  a  plutocracy.     It  sets 
itself  to  corrupt  the  morals  in  order  to  undermine  the 
freedom  of  the  people,  that  the  government      pimocrac 
and  the  laws  may  be  controlled  by  special  and      and  a  Free 
moneyed  interests.     Between  anarchy  on  the  BaUot. 

one  hand  and  a  corrupt  plutocracy  maintaining  its  power 
by  money  and  bribery  on  the  other,  there  is  but  little  to 
choose,  and  there  is  but  a  short  distance  between  them. 
In  England,  before  the  reform  of  1832,  fifteen  thousand 
persons  elected  a  majority  in  the  House  of  Commons. 
A  wealthy  few  bought  the  seats,  or  owned  them.  This 
plutocracy  of  landholders  dictated  the  laws.  History 
tells  of  the  degradation  and  suffering  of  the  common 
people  of  England  in  that  period.'  It  brought  England 
to  the  verge  of  revolution.  But  this  oppression  by  prop- 
erty occurred  under  the  forms  of  law.  If  in  America,  in 
defiance  of  law,  corrupt  wealth,  using  place-seeking  poli- 
ticians as  its  tools,  is  to  corrupt  the  voters  and  buy  the 
laws,  submission  to  such  a  Government  will  be,  of  course, 
a  mere  matter  of  expediency  and  not  of  duty.  The  laws 
that  such  a  Government  makes  are  not  morally  binding 
on  the  people.  All  respect  for  law  and  authority  is  de- 
stroyed, and  the  very  foundations  of  society  are  under- 
mined. If  it  be  understood  that  the  rich  may  buy  the 
poor  it  will  be  believed  that  the  poor  may  loot  the  rich, 
and  this  is  anarchy.' 

The  extent  of  venal  voting  in  some  of  the  States  and 
the  remedies  proposed  present  too  large  a  theme  for  ade- 

^  See  The  American  Republic  and  Its  Governmeut,  p.  41. 
'  Unless  the  evil  of  vote-buying  is  checked  by  reform  the  result  will  be 
either  restoration  of  free  government  through  suffering  and  revolution,  or 


240  Political  Parties  and  Party  Problems 

quate  consideration  here.  In  some  places  the  evil  is  most 
alarming  and  is  almost  enough  to  discourage  the  advo- 
Extent  of  catcs  of  republican  government.  In  one  pivotal 
Venal  Voting.  State  of  the  middle  West  ten  per  cent,  of  the 
votes  are  purchasable,  and  in  some  counties  the  propor- 
tion rises  nearly  to  twenty  per  cent.  This  would  mean 
from  thirty  thousand  to  sixty  thousand  votes  in  the 
State.  This  is  so  large  a  margin  over  the  balance  of 
power  between  the  parties  that  it  has  come  to  be  recog- 
nized in  the  inner  circles  of  politics  that  the  party  em- 
ploying the  largest  corruption  fund  will  carry  the  State. 
This  is  true  not  only  of  the  State  in  question,  but  of  other 
close  States,  which,  because  of  their  being  the  special  bat- 
tle-grounds of  party  managers,  have  been  made  the 
victims  of  corrupt  politics.  The  political  corruption  in 
large  cities  like  New  York,  Chicago,  and  Philadelphia, 
and  in  States  like  Pennsylvania  and  Delaware,  is  prover- 
bial. Money  controls  the  pivotal  States,  and  the  pivotal 
States  control  the  election. 

ThQ  Australian  system  of  voting,  by  which  the' State 
furnishes  the  official  ballot  and  the  voter  is  isolated  in  the 

privacy  of  a  booth  in  which  he  may  mark  his 
BaUotanr  ^^ballot  freely,  has  done  much  good.  But  the 
Evasions  of     provisions   of   the   Australian   ballot   law   are 

evaded.  The  **  assistance  clause  "  permits  the 
party  workers  in  some  States  to  go  into  the  booth  and 
mark  the  ballots  of  illiterate  and  venal  voters.  Clerks  of 
election  perjure  themselves,  violate  their  oath,  and  work 
in  collusion  with  the  corrupted  voter  in  employing  de- 
vices for  giving  information  to  the  bribers  on  the  outside. 
There  are  well-authenticated  instances  in  which  party 
workers  have  marked  in  one  case  II2  and  in  another  158 

the  people  will  be  overawed  by  the  military  arm,  and  a  corrupt  Govern- 
ment will  seek  to  satisfy  their  demands  by  lavish  expenditure  and  the 
splendor  of  imperial  power;  as  splendid  monarchies  have  always  thought 
to  conciliate  the  proletariat  with  bread  and  circuses,  with  pageantry  and 
parade,  and  with  the  charity  of  an  occasional  royal  dinner  to  the  poor. 


Ethical  Problems  in  Party  Politics     241 

ballots  at  one  election.  This  enables  the  buyer  to  know- 
that  the  vote  is  delivered  as  promised.  It  is  reported 
that  in  one  county  in  Pennsylvania  the  superintendent  of 
a  coal-mine  marked  the  ballots  of  320  of  his  Italian  em- 
ployees at  a  single  election.  The  "assistance  clause" 
should  be  abolished  and  every  possible  safeguard  should 
be  erected  to  protect  the  State  against  the  corruption  of 
the  ballot.  The  vote-buyer  commits  a  wrong  not  only 
against  the  individual  whom  he  corrupts,  but  against 
every  individual  in  the  State.  His  rule  is  the  will  of  the 
wicked,  and  under  it  the  upright  and  the  venal  all  suffer 
together.  Every  lover  of  his  country,  every  friend  and 
agency  of  good  government,  should  be  enlisted  to  resist 
the  growth  of  this  threatening  evil. 

REFERENCES  > 

To  readers  and  students  who  wish  to  look  into  the  nature  and  extent  of 
this  evil  the  following  references  on  the  subject  may  be  of  use  : 

1.  "  Money  in  Politics,"  J.  W.  Jenks,  Century^  vol.  xxii.,  p.  94,  October, 

1892. 

2.  "Bribery  in  Elections,"  Nation,  vol.  xliii.,  p.  386. 

3.  "Corrupt    Political    Methods,"    ex-Senator    George    F.    Edmunds, 

Forum,  vol.  vii.,  p.  349. 

4.  "  Criminal   Degradation  of  New  York  Citizenship,"  J.  B.  Leavitt, 

Forum,  vol,  xvii. 

5.  "  Reform  of  Present  Political  Corruption,"  A.  T.  Rice,  North  Amer- 

ican Review,  vol.  cxlviii.,  p.  82. 

6.  "  Money  and  Political  Machines,"  J.  B.  Bishop,  Nation,  vol.  xliv.,  p. 

222. 

7.  "  Degradation  of    Politics   in   the   United   States,"  A.   P.  BARNARD, 

Forum,  vol.  ix.,  p.  117. 

8.  "  Evils  of  Vote  Buying,"  J.  J.  McCoOK,  Forum,  vol.  xiv. 

16 


CHAPTER   XVI 

RINGS  AND  BOSSES 

MR.  BRYCE  has  called  attention  to  the  conditions 
and  influences  in  America  which  have  produced  a 
large  political,  ..class,  a  class  of  men  who  give  a  large  part 
of  theTrtime  to  party  work  and  who  make  their  living 
Professional  from  tliis  work,  or  from  the  offices  which  they 
Pouticians.  obtain  through  means  of  party  service.  He 
mentions  the  immense  size  of  the  country;  the  decen- 
tralization of  our  politics ;  the  frequency  of  elections,  all 
fought  on  party  lines ;  the  lack  of  a  wealthy  leisured  class 
willing  to  give  their  time  to  party  and  public  service ;  and 
he  might  have  mentioned  the  great  commercial  oppor- 
tunities and  pecuniary  rewards  open  to  those  who  wish 
to  wield  political  power  for  selfish  ends.  Elections  in 
America  are  fought  on  party  lines,  from  members  of 
Congress  to  the  constable  in  a  township  or  to  the  clerk 
of  a  village.  Consequently  a  great  deal  of  party  work  is 
necessary. 

'  *  Lists  of  voters  must  be  made,  by  a  house  to  house  canvass ; 
new  voters  must  be  enrolled ;  bills  and  posters  must  be  printed ; 
meetings  must  be  held,  halls  rented,  runners  and  workers  em- 
ployed. One  election  is  hardly  over  before  another  approaches, 
and  the  result  is  that  this  election  work  requires  the  employ- 
ment of  a  large  class  of  men.  There  is  a  great  deal  of  hard, 
dull  election  and  political  work  to  be  done.     Nobody  is  able 

242 


Rings  and  Bosses  243 

or  willing  to  do  it  in  addition  to  his  regular  business  or  profes- 
sion. What  motive  is  there  to  lead  men  to  do  all  this  work 
of  organizing  and  electioneering  ?  What  inducement  has  the 
public  to  offer  men  for  doing  this  public  party  work  ?  There 
must  be  some  inducement  or  men  will  not  do  the  work.  '  What 
is  everybody's  business  is  nobody's  business.'  "  * 

These  conditions  have  produced  a  class  of  party  mana- 
gers called  "politicians,"  who  devoteJthemadyje§Jto party 
service,  sometimes  from  public  spirit^  but  generally  from 
love  of  intrigue  and  2oyi^i%_or  from  gainful  motives. 

A  politician  may  be  defined  as  one  Uevoted"  to  politics. 
Originally  and  rightfully,  the  politician  is  one  versed  or 
experienced  in  the  science  of  government.  In  ^^^  poutician 
this  sense,  all  citizens  should  seek  to  become  and  the 

politicians.  In  this  sense  politician  is  synony-  statesman, 
mous  with  statesman, — one  who  understands  the  princi- 
ples and  art  of  government,  who  gives  thought  and  atten- 
tion to  public  questions,  one  who  is  eminent  for  political 
ability,  and  who  brings  to  public  questions  such  foresight 
and  wisdom  and  patriotism  as  will  enable  him  to  offer  sat- 
isfactory solutions  to  these  questions.  Jefferson,  Hamil- 
ton, Clay,  Webster,  Seward,  and  Lincoln,  Chase,  and 
Sumner  were  politicians  in  this  sense.  They  were  capable 
of  guiding  the  nation  in  the  solution  of  national  problems. 
But  at  present  the  t^xTcs.  politician  has  come  to  mean  some- 
thing quite  different  from  this,  and  there  generally  at- 
taches to  the  term,  unfortunately,  an  element  of  reproach.^^^ 
A  politician  has  come  to  mean  one  devoted  not  to  the 
science  and  art  of  government,  but  to  the  success  of  a  po- 
litical party ;  a  party  worker  who  devotes  himself  to  the 
art  of  making  nominations  and  carrying  elections;  one 
who  manages  caucuses,  committees,  and  conventions,  by 
which  the  party  business  and  the  party  machinery  are  car- 
ried on.  It  is  because  the  people  have  consented  to  turn 
over  their  parties  and  their  party  government  to  this  self- 

»Bryce,  Vol.  II.,  p.  58. 


244  Political  Parties  and  Party  Problems 

constituted  class  of  party  managers  that  they  have  come 
under  the  control  of  rings  and  bosses. 

A  Ring  is  aTsetTor  combination,  of  men  who  stand  by  one 
another,  under  the  direction  of  a  leader,  in  carrying  out 
Rings  and  their  common  political  projects.  They  sup- 
Bosses.  pQj.^  Qj^g  another  for  nominations  and  public 
places  or  for  oth^r  political  reward".  A  number Bf^public 
plax5es'afe"ar^take  within  every  community  every  few 
years,  and  these  afford  salaries,  public  patronage,  con- 
tracts, and  other  pecuniary  opportunities.  Office-holders, 
or  those  who  are  frequently  running  for  office,  or  the  class 
of  professional  politicians  who  live  by  politics,  are  apt  to 
form  a  ring  to  support  one  another,  to  pass  the  offices 
around  among  themselves,  and  to  perpetuate  their  power. 
Men  may  work  with  a  ring  from  love  of  politics  or  because 
they  think  the  course  pursued  is  the  best  for  the  public, 
and  sometimes  what  is  denounced  as  the  work  of  a  ring  is 
nothing  more  than  reasonable  and  natural  co-operation 
for  public  ends.  There  is  much  public  opposition  to,  and 
jealousy  of,  combines  and  rings,  as  the  people  like  their 
political  processes  to  be  open  and  aboveboard,  without 
wire-pulling  and  political  chicanery.  It  happens  for  this 
reason  that  men  are  oftentimes  disposed  to  denounce 
whatever  they  are  opposed  to  as  "ring  politics  "  in  order 
to  bring  their  opponents  into  disrepute.  While  in  this 
way  injustice  may  be  done  to  some  men  who  are  con- 
stantly active  in  politics,  yet  the  members  of  the  profes- 
sional ring  are  generally  in  politics  for  personal  gain,  and 
they  are  usually  unscrupulous  in  their  methods. 

The  leader  of  the  ring  is  the  Boss.  A  Boss  in  Ameri- 
can politics  is  understood  to  be  a  professional  politician 
who  uses  the  machinery  of  a  party  for  the  advantage  of  a 
ring,  or  for  private  ends,  and  who  is  obeyed  by  a  large 
body  of  followers.  The  Boss  is  the  one  who  controls  the 
professional  forces.  He  cannot  be  said  to  be  a  political 
leader,  though  a  political  leader  may  sometimes  descend 


Rings  and  Bosses  245 

to  the  functions  of  a  boss  by  controlling  his  followers, 
like  sub-bosses  or  feudal  underlings,  by  means  of  places 
and  other  indirect  forms  of  bribery.  A  political  leader  is 
a  statesman ;  he  has  opinions  on  public  questions ;  he  has 
political  intelligence  and  a  public  purpose,  and  he  seeks 
to  instruct  and  direct  public  opinion  on  great      ^».  „ 

^  tr  &  Xhe  Boss  is 

public  questions.  The  real  leader  is  apt  to  be.  Not  a  Political 
though  he  is  not  always,  a  successful  politi-  Leader, 

cian,  one  who  resorts  to  the  tactful  art  of  political  man- 
agement, as  Jefferson  and  Lincoln  and  most  of  the  great 
popular  leaders  have  done.'  ButjJieJeader's  purposes 
are  pub]ic_ones,  and  he  appeals  to  the  public  reason  for 
the  support  of  opinions  and  policies,  and  his  methods  as 
a  politician  arebut  means  to  an  end.  If  these  methods 
are  corrupt  the  leader  is  disconnected  from  them ;  the 
actual  working  of  and  personal  contact  with  such  methods 
are  turned  over  to  others.  The  statesman  who  stands  for 
the  suffrages  of  the  people  will  not  be  identified  with,  and 
he  usually  has  no  disposition  toward,  outright  political 
corruption.  If  a  leader  is  suspected  of  responsibility  for 
corrupt  methods  he  is  injured  with  the  people.  The  cor- 
rupt boss,  on  the  other  hand,  usually  does  not  stand  for 
popular  election.  If  he  seeks  office  it  is  by  appointment 
or  by  indirect  election, — by  legislature  or  city  council, 
through  men  whom  he  controls.  Usually,  however,  the 
boss  does  not  hold  office,  but  controls  the  offices  from  the 
outside  by  back-stair  influence,  and  without  responsibility, 
though  he  occasionally  decides  to  have  himself  elected  to 
the  United  States  Senate,  or  some  other  office  of  power 
and  influence. 

The  Boss  is  not  concerned  with  opinions.  He  controls 
men  by  their  interests.  His  ring,  or  combination,  is 
formed  to  carry  out  personal  ends  without  any  regard  to 
the  interest  of  the  public.     He  cares  nothing  about  the 

*  Ex-Speaker  R.eed  is  reported  to  have  said,  with  his  usual  wit  and 
wisdom,  "A  statesman  is  a  successful  politician  who  is  dead." 


246  Political  Parties  and  Party  Problems 

principles  of  his  party ;  it  is  his  business,  and  that  of  his 
henchmen  and  heelers — the  workers  who  carry  out  his 
commands — to  support  the  party,  no  matter  for  what 
policy  it  declares,  unless  this  should  endanger  local  boss 
Co-operation  control.  It  is  the  Boss's  business  to  carry  the 
of  Opposing  election  and  thus  to  get  power  and  places.  At 
osses.  ^^  hazards  he  must  prevent  the  incoming  of  an 

honest  administration  that  will  apply  the  public  offices  for 
public  uses ;  and  to  avoid  this  the  party  Boss  will  support 
the  boss  of  the  opposite  party  against  a  reform  movement 
giving  promise  of  success.  In  such  times  of  signal  distress 
"there  is  no  politics  in  politics"  among  Bosses.  The 
Bosses  of  the  opposing  parties  will  come  to  an  under- 
standing and  work  together  to  save  bossism  and  its  per- 
quisites. In  1901  the  Democratic  Boss  in  Philadelphia 
and  his  supporters,  at  the  behest  of  the  Republican 
boss,  put  out  a  separate  Democratic  ticket,  without  the 
least  hope  of  its  success,  in  order  to  defeat  the  threatened 
success  of  an  independent  movement.  The  Democratic 
Boss  and  his  "heelers"  no  doubt  found  suitable  com- 
pensation from  the  public-tax  tills.  It  is  not  the  party 
rascals  of  the  opposite  party  that  the  zealous  party 
boss  wishes  to  turn  out,  unless  he  can  turn  his  own 
rascals  in.  The  city  Boss  of  the  corrupt  type,  pure  and 
simple,  considers  his  own  interest  first,  then  the  interest 
of  his  kind,  then  of  his  party,  and  then  (if  ever)  of  the 
public.  Those  who  support  him  have  their  reward, — the 
laborer  gets  his  job;  the  placeman  office;  the  police- 
man his  promotion  or  his  "divvy  "^;  the  contractor  a 
chance  at  the  public  works ;  the  banker  the  use  of  the  pub- 
lic money ;  the  gambler  and  the  criminal  immunity  from 
prosecution ;  the  honest  merchant  certain  sidewalk  privi- 

*  City  policemen  are  often  allowed  a  share  or  dividend  ('*divvy")  from 
the  illegitimate  collections  levied  under  corrupt  boss  rule  on  gambling- 
places,  saloons,  houses  of  ill-repute, — sums  that  are  filched  from  these 
places  for  immunity  from  prosecution  and  arrest. 


Rings  and  Bosses  247 

leges ;  the  rich  corporations  lowered  assessments  and  im- 
munity from  equitable  taxation.  All  buy  these  special 
favors  by  support  of  the  Boss's  power  and  policy,  and  all 
enjoy  the  blessings  of  the  Boss's  government, — high  taxa- 
tion, maladministration,  stolen  franchises,  robbery  of  the 
public  treasury,  and  criminal  disorder  in  the  community. 

Is  the  Boss  always  a  bad  man?  By  no  means,  as  the 
world  judges  men.  He  is  generally  a  good  fellow,  hale 
and  well-met,  especially  when  seen  at  close  character  and 
range.  He  has  many  good  qualities.  He  Processes  of 
may  be   lacking   in  all   sense  of   political  in-  ®    °^* 

tegrity  and  may  feel  no  responsibility  for  good  govern- 
ment. But  he  at  least  displays  that  type  of  honor  that 
is  proverbial  among  brigands  and  bandits.  A  good  boss 
will  often  buy  the  venal,  while  he  himself  will  not  sell : 
he  will  keep  his  word  and  will  seldom  betray  his  own. 
He  is  generous  and  benevolent,  helpful  and  sympa- 
thetic. He  is  energetic  and  active,  and  he  lives  close  to 
and  knows  the  people  whom  he  controls,  and  he  controls 
them  because  of  this  fact.  He  does  not  preach  at  long 
range.  He  does  not  criticise  or  condemn  or  attempt  to 
reform.  He  sees  things  as  they  are,  accepts  them  as  a 
modus  operandi  J  and  works  the  conditions  for  what  they 
may  be  worth  for  his  purposes. 

Miss  Jane  Addams,  of  Hull  House,  Chicago,  tells 
'•Why  the  Ward  Boss  Rules  '" : 

"  If  the  Boss's  friend  gets  drunk  he  takes  care  of  him;  if  he 
is  evicted  for  rent,  arrested  for  crime,  loses  wife  or  child,  the 
Boss  stands  by  him  and  helps  him  out.  The  Boss  .,^.  ^j^^ 
secures  jobs  and  places,  or  makes  them  by  city  con-  Ward  Boss 
tracts,  bails  his  constituents  out  of  jail,  says  a  good  Rules." 

word  to  the  police,  uses  his  *  pull  *  with  the  magistrate  if  they 
are  Uable  to  be  fined,  or  fixes  up  matters  with  the  State's  attor  • 

'  See  Miss  Addams's  remarkable  article  with  the  above  title  in  the  Out- 
look for  April  2,  1898.  I  here  condense  the  substance  of  a  part  of  this 
article. 


248  Political  Parties  and  Party  Problems 

ney.  The  alderman  of  the  19th  ward,  Chicago,  had  twenty-six 
hundred  people  on  the  public  payroll;  all  were  under  obliga- 
tions to  the  Boss.  The  Italian  laborer  wants  a  job  and  he  will 
naturally  vote  for  the  man  who  gets  him  one.  The  Boss  gives 
presents  at  weddings  and  christenings;  buys  tickets  wholesale 
for  benefit  entertainments;  contributes  to  prizes  for  church 
bazaars,  in  ways  that  are  apt  to  be  known ;  provides  a  helping 
hand  at  funerals,  furnishing  carriages  for  the  poor  and  a  de- 
cent burial  for  the  destitute  when  they  are  dead,  keeping  his 
account  with  the  undertaker,  and  never  allowing  a  county 
burial.  All  the  friends  and  relatives  and  patrons  of  these 
occasions  will  become  the  friends  of  the  Boss.  The  19th  ward 
alderman  distributed  six  tons  of  turkeys,  four  or  more  tons  of 
ducks  and  geese  at  Christmas,  each  handed  out  by  himself 
with  a  *  Merry  Christmas.'     He  is  interested  in  the  people." 

The  people  cannot  see  or  feel  the  demands  of  strict 
justice  and  morality.  To  waste  precious  time  and  energy 
and  opportunity  and  money — to  break  an  alabaster  box  of 
ointment, — in  devotion  and  reverence  to  mere  righteous- 
ness and  justice  and  unselfish  love, — this  is  sheer  waste. 
The  Boss  does  not  waste  his  money  in  that  way;  he 
makes  every  opportunity  count.  He  gives  it  to  the  poor. 
So  it  will  be  said  of  him:  "He  has  a  good  heart;  he  is 
good  to  the  widow  and  the  fatherless ;  he  does  more  for 
the  poor  man  than  the  big  guns  who  are  always  talking 
about  civil  service  and  reform." 

Miss  Addams  continues,  in  substance : 

*  *  To  ask  where  the  money  comes  from  which  the  Boss  uses 
in  this  way  would  be  sinister.  He  gets  it  from  the  rich,  of 
course ;  and  so  long  as  he  distributes  it  to  the  poor,  what  if  he 
is  the  leader  of  the  gang  of  '  gray  wolves  '  in  the  city  council, 
selling  franchises  and  betraying  the  most  important  interests 
of  the  city  ?  What  if  he  does  make  deals  with  franchise-seek- 
ing companies,  and  guarantees  for  boodle  to  steer  dubious 
measures  through  the  council  ?  What  if  he  is,  in  short,  a  suc- 
cessful boodler  ?     This  is  the  way  political  business  is  run  and 


Rings  and  Bosses  249 

it  is  fortunate  that  a  kind- hearted  man  so  close  to  the  people 
gets  so  large  a  share  of  the  boodle.  The  people  do  not  follow 
the  moral  logic  to  see  that  the  money  comes  not  from  the  rich 
companies  or  the  pockets  of  its  agents,  but  from  higher  taxes 
and  lower  wages,  from  the  street-car  fares  of  the  laboring  poor 
going  to  and  from  their  work.  They  would  rather  pay  two 
cents  more  each  time  they  ride  than  give  up  the  moral  con- 
sciousness that  they  have  a  big,  warm-hearted  friend  at  court 
who  will  stand  by  them  in  every  emergency.  The  sense  of 
just  dealing  and  public  morality  comes  later  in  ethical  develop- 
ment than  the  desire  for  protection  and  kindness.  So  the 
Boss  rules  because  he  is  a  good  friend  and  neighbor. 

"A  reform  league  put  up  a  candidate  against  a  notoriously 
corrupt  alderman.  An  attempt  was  made  to  rally  the  moral 
sentiment  of  the  community  for  common  honesty.  Orators 
from  the  *  better  element  *  came  out  from  other  parts  of  the 
city  to  speak.  Suddenly  it  was  announced  from  all  sides  that 
while  the  money  and  speakers  for  the  reform  candidate  were 
coming  from  the  swells,  the  money  which  was  back- 

^^  ,.  /  /  .  ,  Moral  Re- 

mg  the  corrupt  candidate  was  also  commg  from  a  sponsibiuty  for 
swell  source :  the  President  of  a  street-car  company,  the  Corrupt 
for  whom  the  boodler  performed  constant  offices  in 
the  city  council,  was  ready  to  back  him  to  the  extent  of  $50,- 
000;  this  magnate  was  a  good  man  and  he  sat  in  high  places; 
he  had  recently  given  a  large  sum  of  money  to  a  great  educa- 
tional institution,  and  had  accordingly  been  appropriately 
honored  on  convocation  day,  and  he  was  therefore  as  philan- 
thropic, not  to  say  as  good  and  upright,  as  any  man  in  town ; 
our  corrupt  alderman,  therefore,  had  the  sanction  of  the 
highest  authorities,  and  the  reformers  who  were  talking  against 
corruption,  the  selling  and  buying  of  votes  and  franchises, 
were  only  cranks,  and  not  the  solid  business  men  who  had 
developed  and  built  up  the  city. 

"And  thus  we  see  by  experience  how  all  parts  of  the  com- 
munity are  bound  together  in  ethical  development.  If  the  so- 
called  more  enlightened  members  of  the  community  accept 
public  gifts  from  the  man  who  buys  up  the  council,  and  the 
so-called  less  enlightened  accept  individual  gifts  from  the  man 


250  Political  Parties  and  Party  Problems 

who  sells  out  the  council,  we  surely  must  take  our  punishment 
together."  ' 

This  is  a  striking  revelation  from  one  of  our  political 
and  social  prophets  and  teachers  of  the  power  and  pro- 
cesses of  the  Boss.  Political  immorality  is  at  the  root  of 
the  evil,  and  it  is  a  political  immorality  for  which  respon- 
sibility lies  not  at  the  door  of  the  poor,  but  at  the  door  of 
the  rich.  We  may  condemn  the  poor  man  who  sells  his 
vote  for  a  dollar  or  for  a  job ;  but  what  shall  we  say  of 
the  rich  corporation  of  respectable  men  which  is  seeking 
further  enrichment  and  more  special  privileges  by  these 
processes  of  public  rape  and  plunder?  No  punishment 
can  be  too  severe  for  the  intelligent,  the  rich,  and  the 
powerful  who  commit  such  political  crimes.  We  have  no 
right  to  honor  such  men,  or  elect  them  to  office,  or  yield 
to  their  will,  while  their  public  bribery  and  pollution  are 
undermining  the  very  foundations  of  morality.  The  rich 
boodler  is  the  chief  source  of  the  Boss's  power;  and  it  is 
his  purchase  of  franchises  and  legislatures  and  judicial  de- 
cisions that  is  the  most  dangerous  form  of  anarchy  in 
America  to-day. 

How  is  the  power  of  the  corrupt  Boss  to  be  destroyed? 
Proposed         Many  remedies  have  been  suggested,  which  we 
Remedies  for   can  but  briefly  refer  to. 

Boss  Rule.  J     Political  education.     This  must  be  con- 

stant and  untiring,  and  there  must  be  a  common  standard 
of  political  ethics  for  all  classes.  All  classes  must  meet 
on  common  ground  of  justice  and  honorable  dealing. 

2.  Nominate  the  delegates  to  our  conventions,  or  our 
candidates  for  office,  by  means  of  a  primary  election. 
The  Boss  has  his  power  because  he  can  nominate  to  office 
or  control  legislation.  It  is  claimed  that  if  this  power  to 
nominate  were  brought  within  the  power  of  all  the  people 
the  Boss's  power  would  be  destroyed.  * 

'  Miss  Jane  Addams,  Outlook,  April  2,  1898.  *  See  p.  283  sqq. 


Rings  and  Bosses  251 

3.  Civil  Service  Reform.  As  the  power  of  the  Boss  is 
in  the  places  and  patronage  he  controls,  it  is  claimed  that 
genuine  reform  of  the  civil .  service,  the  substitution  of 
business  methods,  or  the  merit  system,  for  the  spoils  sys- 
tem would  destroy  the  Boss's  power.* 

4.  Independent  voting.  It  is  claimed  that  if  men 
would  not  be  such  slaves  to  their  party,  the  Boss  would 
be  undermined.  As  it  is,  the  Boss  can  confidently  rely 
upon  ninety  per  cent,  of  the  voters  of  his  party  servilely 
following  his  program  and  voting  the  ticket  that  he  has 
arranged.  If  men  would  but  bolt  for  independent  can- 
didates, relief  from  boss  rule  might  be  obtained.' 

5.  Divorce  municipal  from  national  politics.  City  elec- 
tions should  not  be  held  nor  city  business  conducted  on 
the  basis  of  national  issues  nor  in  view  of  the  interest  of 
political  parties.  If  city  politics  could  bo  divorced  from 
national  politics,  so  that  the  voters  would  be  encouraged 
to  vote  for  the  best  men  regardless  of  party  affiliation,  the 
Boss  would  be  deprived  of  an  element  of  power.  But  it 
is  very  difficult  in  local  activities  to  disregard  the  interests 
and  claims  of  national  organizations. 

6.  Arouse  a  wider  interest  and  activity,  a  larger  partici- 
pation in  politics.  This  is  a  part  of  education  and  a  very 
important  part.  Some  of  the  greatest  evils  in  our  politi- 
cal life — the  evils  of  bossism  among  them — come  from 
political  apathy,  from  neglect  of  their  political  duties  by 
so  many  good  citizens. 

The  Boss  is  denounced  as  selfish  and  venal  because  he 
goes  into  politics  for  personal  gain.  But  it  is  no  more 
selfish  to  go  into  politics  for  personal  gain  than  ^j^^  ^^j  ^^ 
to  stay  out  for  personal  gain.  The  man  who  Ponticai 
goes  about  his  business  making   money,  and  ^  ^* 

feathering  his  own  nest,  and  thinking  only  of  commercial 
gains,  while  he  is  content  to  leave  '*the  dirty  pool  of 
politics"  to  the  "unscrupulous  and  professional  politi- 

*  See  p.  254  sqq.  '  See  p.  295  sqq. 


252  Political  Parties  and  Party  Problems 

cians  "  is  no  more  unselfish  and  patriotic  than  the  man 
who  goes  into  politics  for  what  he  can  make  out  of  it. 
Neither  course  is  patriotic,  but  the  chances  are  that  the 
Boss  is  the  more  unselfish  of  the  two.  We  do  not  need 
that  more  men  should  go  into  politics  for  private  gain, 
but  there  is  great  need  that  more  should  go  in  for  public 
ends.  How  shall  a  larger  proportion  of  citizens  be  induced 
to  take  an  interest  i?i  politics  from  purely  public  motives  ? 
This  is  the  constant  problem  of  the  republic.  Whatever 
tends  to  promote  this  larger  disinterested  participation  in 
politics  tends  to  produce  good  government  and  a  higher 
public  welfare.  In  a  democracy  politics  are  the  concern 
of  all  citizens  and  they  cannot  neglect  their  civic  duties 
with  impunity.  If  they  wish  to  preserve  liberty  and  self- 
government  and  good  government  they  must  pay  the 
price  for  these  things.  The  price  is  eternal  vigilance  and 
constant  political  watchfulness  and  activity.  They  must 
care,  for  "ten  men  who  care  are  worth  more  than  a  hun- 
dred who  do  not  care,"  *  and  the  political  power  will  be 
wielded  by  those  who  care  for  it  most.  The  apathy  of 
citizens  under  a  republican  government,  seen  in  their 
failure  to  do  their  duty  in  the  endeavor  to  place  the  Gov- 
ernment in  charge  of  men  that  are  honest  and  true,  is 
part  and  parcel  of  pernicious  political  life.  It  may  be 
cheaper  in  dollars  and  cents,  and  personal  pains,  to  let 
the  Government  be  in  the  hands  of  the  venal  than  to  labor 
and  suffer  to  keep  it  in  the  hands  of  the  honest  and  up- 
right. But  it  is  just  such  ignorant  and  indifferent  citizen- 
ship as  will  consent  to  leave  venality  unopposed  that  is 
responsible  for  bad  politics  and  that  leads  to  corrupt 
government.' 

"When  good  men  sit  at  home  not  knowing  that  there  is 
anything  to  be  done,  nor  caring  to  know ;  cultivating  a  feeling 
that  politics  are  tiresome  and  dirty,  and  politicians  vulgar  bul- 

*  Bryce,  vol.  i. ,  p.  262.  '  See  Coler's  Municipal  Government 


Rings  and  Bosses  253 

lies  and  bravoes;  half  persuaded  that  a  republic  is  the  con- 
temptible rule  of  a  mob,  and  secretly  longing  for  a  splendid 
and  vigorous  despotism, — then  remember  it  is  not  a  govern- 
ment mastered  by  ignorance,  it  is  a  government  betrayed  by 
intelligence;  it  is  not  the  victory  of  the  slums,  it  is  the  surren- 
der of  the  schools;  it  is  not  that  bad  men  are  brave,  but  that 
good  men  are  infidels  and  cowards."  ^ 

A  writer  who  has  struggled  manfully  against  municipal 
corruption  expresses  the  faith  that  when  the  people  are 
led  to  see  what  benefits  come  to  them  from  good  govern- 
ment they  will  not  willingly  vote  to  put  vicious  and  dis- 
honest men  in  control.  The  "City  Beautiful"  with  its 
good  schools,  public  parks,  improved  streets,  lower 
taxes,  economy  in  the  conduct  of  public  business,  an 
honorable  enforcement  of  law  and  order,  protection 
against  injustice,  and  a  fair  chance  in  business, — these 
precious  benefits  are  all  sacrificed  by  indifference  and 
apathy  in  politics.  The  benefits  of  good  government 
should  be  made  manifest  to  the  people.^ 

'  Geo.  William  Curtis,  "  The  Public  Duty  of  Educated  Men,"  Orations, 
vol.  i.,  p.  269. 

'  See  Coler's  Municipal  Government, 


CHAPTER  XVII 

THE   SPOILS  SYSTEM 

ONE  of  the  great  agencies  in  building  up  and  main- 
taining a  corrupt  system  of  boss  government  and 
machine  politics  is  the  spoils  system. 

There  are  three  divisions  in  the  public  service  of  the 
United  States :  the  civil,  the  military,  and  the  naval.  By 
the  civil  service  is  meant  that  which  is  neither  military 
nor  naval,  and  it  comprises  all  the  offices  by  'fcjMch  the 
civil  administration  of  government  is  carried  9E|  The 
struggle  for  civil-service  reform  has  been  an  effor#€o  sub- 
stitute in  the  civil  service  what  is  known  as  the ''merit 
system  "  for  what  is  known  as  the  "spoils  system," — that 
is,  that  merit  instead  of  party  service  should  be  the  basis 
of  appointment  to  office  and  retention  therein. 

The  Spoils  System  consists  of  the  practice  of  using  the 

Definition  of    P^t)lic  officcs  as  party  rewards.     The  system 

the  Spoils        regards  the  public  office  first  as  a  party  per- 

ystem.  quisitc,  Only  secondarily  as  a  public  trust.     It 

involves : 

1.  Tenure  at  the  pleasure  of  the  appointing  power. 

2.  The  appointing  power  to  be  influenced  primarily  by 
party  considerations, — the  office  to  be  bestowed  from 
party  motives,  on  a  party  man,  as  a  reward  for  party 
service. 

3.  No  man  to  retain  office  longer  than  his  party  holds 
power. 

254 


The  Spoils  System  255 

When  a  new  party  comes  in  the  old-party  rascals  must 
be  turned  out.  "To  the  victors  belong  the  spoils,"  and 
the  workers  of  the  incoming  party  must  have  the  offices 
as  the  rewards  of  victory.  Senator  Marcy  of  New  York, 
when  Mr.  Clay  charged  the  politicians  of  that  State  with 
corrupting  methods,  defended  the  New  York  system  in 
these  memorable  words : 

•'  When  they  [the  New  Xork  politicians]  are  contending  for 
victory,  they  avow  the  intention  of  enjoying  the  fruits  of  it.  If 
they  are  defeated  they^  expect  to  retire  from  office.  If  they 
are  successful,  they  claim,  as  matter  of  right,  the  advantages 
of  success.  They  see  nothing  wrong  in  the  rule  that  to  the  victor 
belong  the  spoils  of  the  enemy. '  *  * 

It  is  a  system  by  which  the  party  worker  has  the  best 
chance  of  appointment,  and  merit  is  subordi-  Evils  of  the 
nated  or  disregarded.  Spoils  system. 

In  discussing  this  subject  we  can  do  no  more  than  to 
summarize  some  of  the  evils  of  the  spoils  system. 

I.   It  tends  to  demoralize  the  public  service. 

Under  the  spoils  system,  when  a  party  comes  into 
power  thousands  of  office-seekers  pour  into  the  national 
capital  clamoring  for  office.  They  call  for^  Dg^ojaUza- 
these  offices,  not  because  the  offices  are  vacant,  tion  of  the 
nor  because  they  are  not  well  filled,  nor  upon  ^"^^*^  Sennce. 
the  ground  that  the  applicants  have  any  special  fitness. 
The  qualifications  of  the  applicants  are  only  a  secondary 
consideration,  even  in  the  minds  of  the  applicants  them- 
selves. 

Their  claims  are  based  on  some  personal  or  party  ser- 
vice,— the  payment  or  collection  of  money  for  campaign 
purposes,  the  making  of  speeches,  or  other  political  work 
for  some  Senator  or  Representative  or  party  committee. 
No  matter  how  good  a  public  servant  a  man  may  be,  nor 
how  well  and  faithfully  he  may  have  performed  his  duties, 

*  Debate  in  U.  S.  Senate,  1832. 


256  Political  Parties  and  Party  Problems 

nor  how  inoffensive  he  may  be  as  a  partisan,  if  his  party 
goes  out  he  must  go  too,  to  make  way  for  some  party 
worker  who  wishes  to  get  in.  Old  and  well-tried  public 
servants  are  put  out;  new  and  untried  servants  are 
brought  in.  When  this  happens  in  offices  requiring  ex- 
pert knowledge,  and  when  time  and  experience  are  re- 
quired to  learn  the  duties  of  the  office,  nothing  can  result 
but  the  demoralization  of  the  service. 

As  the  ofificial's  tenure  of  office  depends  upon  party 
zeal  and  party  service,  and  not  on  faithfully  performing 
Tenure  by  the  duties  of  his  officc,  the  temptation  is  very 
Party  Service,  great  to  ncglcct  these  duties  for  party  work. 
As  his  appointment,  in  the  first  place,  depended  upon  a 
political  "pull,"  or  influence,  with  some  Senator  or  Rep- 
resentative, or  political  overlord,  and  his  retention  will 
depend  upon  the  continued  success  of  his  party  and  his 
party  superiors,  his^devotion  will  first  be  to  his  party 
chiefs,  ~aai.his  political  worlT  will  Hatufallynrecerve  the 
larger  part  of  his  interest  and  attention.  His  official 
duties  may  be  performed,  biif  they  are  more  apt  to  be 
neglected,  especially  if  his  party  interests  demand  it.  The 
spoils  ofificial  is  the  servant  of  the  party  first,  of  the  pub- 
lic afterwards. 

The  merit  system  reverses  this.  It  applies  the  simple 
Jeffersonian  test,  "Is  he  honest?  Is  he  capable?  Is  he 
faithful  to  the  Constitution?"  If  he  is,  he  will  be  re- 
tained, and  he  will  not  need  to  run  to  Congressmen  or 
political  committeemen  for  "influence."  If  a  new  ap- 
pointment or  a  promotion  is  to  be  made  it  is  to  be  given 
to  the  man  who  is  best  fitted  to  discharge  the  duties  of 
the  position,  and  this  fitness  is  to  be  ascertained,  as  any 
sensible  business  man  would  ascertain  it,  by  some  fair, 
honest,  impartial  trial. 

2.  The  spoils  system  tends  toward  the  corruption  of 
public  morals.  The  people  themselves  are  corrupted  by 
it.     The  public  might  endure  a  deficient  public  service, 


The  Spoils  System  257 

but  the  people  cannot  endure  the  corruption  which  the 
spoils  system  brings  with  it  into  their  political  life.  It 
tends  directly  to  produce  the  professional  class  2.  The  Cor- 
of  politicians,  and  to  sustain  the  corrupt  power  niption  of 
of  the  boss.     The  spoils  motive  in  politics  ap-  Morals, 

peals  to  cupidity,  avarice,  selfishness,  not  to  patriotism ; 
consequently  the  selfish,  the  avaricious,  the  unscrupulous, 
will  press  forward  and  scramble  for  place,  while  those  to 
whom  higher  motives  appeal  will  tend  to  retire.  It  in- 
volves all  the  evils  of  government  by  patronage  which 
made  the  age  of  Walpole  so  notable  for  corruption. 
**A11  these  men  have  their  price,"  said  Walpole,  as  the 
members  were  filling  the  benches  in  the  Commons.  So 
the  spoils  system  teaches  that  men  are  to  be  controlled  in 
politics  by  bribes  and  patronage  and  places,  and  it  culti- 
vates appeals  to  such  motives.  It  directly  introduces 
patronage  as  a  corrupting  influence  between  the  President 
and  members  of  Congress.  Senators  offer  votes  for  places 
and  the  President  offers  places  for  votes.  One  public  ser- 
vant pays  another  for  the  betrayal  of  a  trust,  and  the 
people  are  taught  to  look  upon  this  form  of  bribery  as  a 
legitimate  practice.' 

*  *  So  long  as  the  offices  were  considered  as  public  trusts,  to 
be  conferred  on  the  honest,  the  faithful,  and  capable,  for  the 
common  good,  and  not  for  the  benefit  or  gain  of  the  incumbent 
or  his  party,  and  so  long  as  it  was  the  practice  of  the  Govern- 
ment to  continue  in  office  those  who  faithfully  performed  their 
duties,  patronage  was  but  a  moderate  influence  either  over  the 
body  of  the  community,  or  over  the  office-holders  themselves; 
but  when  this  practice  was  reversed — when  offices  instead  of 
being  considered  as  public  trusts,  to  be  conferred  on  the  de- 
serving, were  regarded  as  the  spoils  of  victory,  to  be  bestowed 
as  rewards  for  partisan  service — it  is  easy  to  see  that  the  cer- 
tain, direct,  and  inevitable  tendency  of  such  a  state  of  things 
is  to  convert  the  entire  body  of  those  in  office  into  corrupt  and 

*  See  the  Author's  The  American  Republic  and  Its  Government,  p.  184  sqq. 
17 


258  Political  Parties  and  Party  Problems 

supple  instruments  of  power,  and  to  raise  up  a  host  of  hungry, 
greedy,  and  subservient  partisans,  ready  for  every  service, 
however  base  and  corrupt.  Were  a  premium  offered  for  the 
best  means  of  extending  to  the  utmost  the  power  of  patronage ; 
to  destroy  the  love  of  country,  and  to  substitute  a  spirit  of 
subserviency  and  man-worship ;  to  encourage  vice  and  discour- 
age virtue,  no  scheme  more  perfect  could  be  devised."  * 

In  this  early  condemnation  of  the  spoils  system  Mr. 
Calhoun  shows  a  remarkable  insight  into  the  evils  the  sys- 
tem was  destined  to  produce.  The  spoils  idea  invariably 
associates  party  service  with  office,  party  work  with  pay, 
party  loyalty  with  official  salaries.  It  holds  up  as  the 
prize  of  victory,  not  the  public  welfare  or  a  wise  public 
policy,  but  two  hundred  thousand  offices  with  millions  in 
salaries.  It  appeals  directly  to  love  of  money  and  place, 
and  stimulates  a  fierce  and  selfish  party  spirit  that  will 
stop  at  no  wrong  to  accomplish  its  end.  It  makes  high- 
minded  party  service  and  public-spirited  candidacy  for 
office  impossible.  It  levies  contributions  on  the  salaries 
of  all  the  offices  and  expends  vast  sums  in  the  corruption 
of  the  voters.  It  thus  tends  to  lower  the  tone  not  only  of 
our  public  men,  but  of  the  political  life  of  the  whole  com- 
munity. 

3.  The  spoils  system  leads  to  a  perversion  of  the  party 
3.  Perveraon   i^^^  ^^^  IS  a  source  of  party  weakness, 
of  the  True  It  perverts  the  fundamental  idea  of  a  party. 

Conception  of    -  ,        .  1  •  1  •  .  - 

Party,  and  Instead  of  teachmg  that  a  party  is  a  union  of 
Party  DebUity.  citizens  for  the  sake  of  promoting  political 
principles  and  policies  on  which  they  are  agreed,  it  incul- 
cates the  idea  that  parties  and  party  agencies  are  combi- 
nations of  men  for  the  purpose  of  getting  the  offices. 
"What  are  we  here  for,  if  it  is  n't  for  the  offices? "  said 
Flannagan  of  Texas  in  one  of  the  great  National  Conven- 
tions. This  is  the  typical  spoilsman's  idea  of  the  purpose 
of  a  party.  It  is  not  only  sordid,  but  it  is  debilitating. 
*  Mr.  Calhoun,  speech  and  report  on  the  Civil  Service  in  1835. 


The  Spoils  System  259 

If  it  is  only  the  offices  the  parties  are  striving  for,  why 
should  the  great  body  of  citizens  care  which  party  wins? 
It  matters  very  little  to  the  voting  mass  of  either  party 
which  set  of  party  office-seekers  is  fed  at  the  public  crib. 
The  more  the  idea  is  enforced  on  the  people  that  it  is  the 
offices  and  salaries  that  men  are  striving  for  in  party  con- 
tests the  more  will  politics  be  sordid  and  mean,  and  the 
more  will  the  great  body  of  voters  refrain  from  party 
activity.  The  people  will  come  to  view  our  political 
contests  only  in  the  light  of  the  street, —  that  "there 
is  nothing  in  it"  for  them.  And  when  the  party  chiefs 
come  to  distribute  the  spoils,  there  is  sure  to  be  disap- 
pointment. Ten  applicants  are  disappointed  to  every 
one  that  is  gratified.  The  "knife  is  up  the  sleeve  "  with 
those  who  have  been  given  promises  that  cannot  be  real- 
ized. The  Stalwart  party  braves  go  on  the  war-path. 
Personal  feuds  and  factional  strife  arise  and  the  harmony 
of  the  party  is  disturbed.  The  Congressman  of  the  party 
out  of  power  has  not  one  half  the  trouble  in  keeping  har- 
mony in  his  district  as  have  those  who  have  the  hateful 
task  of  distributing  post-offices  and  revenue  collector- 
ships.  If  the  offices  are  to  be  distributed  by  favor  they 
inevitably  become  a  source  of  weakness  to  the  party. 

The  management  of  politics  by  office-holders  and  office- 
seekers,  as  the  spoils  system  requires,  is  distasteful  to  the 
people.  It  is  sometimes  said  that  the  spoils  of  office 
are  necessary  to  hold  political  parties  together,  to  create 
an  interest  in  public  affairs,  to  get  men  to  work  for  the 
party  welfare,  and  to  give  life  and  spirit  to  our  political 
contests.  This  is  a  libel.  He  slanders  American  patri- 
otism and  public  spirit  who  says  that  it  is  necessary  to 
hold  out  the  allurement  of  spoils  to  inspire  the  citizens 
with  an  interest  in  public  affairs.  Such  inducements  may 
be  necessary  to  bring  into  party  service  the  men  who  have 
to  be  "seen,"  the  political  grafters  and  boodlers,— the 
men  who  buy  votes  and  expect  to  recoup  themselves  in 


26o  Political  Parties  and  Party  Problems 

office  from  the  public  treasury.  The  spoils  system  does, 
indeed,  bring  these  into  party  service,  and  the  result  is,  as 
we  have  said,  that  better  men  are  crowded  out. 

Thus,  it  is  obvious  that  the  three  sources  of  party 
strength  referred  to  in  apologies  for  the  spoils  system  by 
its  friends  are  manifestly  corrupting,  (i)  Assessment  on 
office-holders,  under  fear  of  removal,  of  large  sums  of 
money  for  campaign  expenses.  (2)  Party  service  by  pub- 
lic officials,  under  the  same  penalty, — the  performance 
of  party  work  for  which  the  public  pays.  (3)  Promises  of 
places  to  others  as  rewards  of  party  work  or  party  contri- 
bution. It  were  far  better  to  prevent  these  spoils  motives 
that  appeal  so  strongly  to  the  venal  and  effectively  repel 
the  patriotic. 

That  the  people  would  not  neglect  their  parties  if  the 
spoils  motive  were  removed  is  shown  in  the  experience  of 
England,  where  parties  are  well  sustained,  yet  when  one 
party  is  overthrown  scarcely  sixty  offices  change  hands. 
In  this  country  the  most  inspiring  political  contests  have 
been  carried  on  when  the  spoils  were  not  an  element  in 
politics,  by  patriotic  and  self-sacrificing  devotion.  Our 
political  history  abundantly  shows  that  the  mercenary  mo- 
tive is  not  necessary  to  well-organized  and  well-disciplined 
parties. 

The  merit  system,  on  the  other  hand,  would  elevate  the 
motives  and  tone  of  party  contests ;  it  would  bring  into 
politics  men  of  higher  aspirations  and  nobler  aims;  it 
would  eliminate  much  of  the  personal  element  in  party 
strife,  and  it  would  relieve  our  public  men  of  patronage- 
mongering  and  allow  them  to  attend  to  the  high  duties  for 
which  they  are  elected.  It  would  tend  to  suppress  the 
boss  and  to  develop  the  statesman. 

4.  The  spoils  system  leads  to  the  usurpation  by  mem- 
bers of  Congress  of  the  executive  power  of  appoint- 
ment, while  it  prevents  the  President  and  his  Cabinet 
from  giving  due  attention  to  public  business.     It  thus 


The  Spoils  System  261 

tends  to  the  perversion  of  our  constitutional  system  by- 
blending  executive  and  legislative  powers. 

In  a  new   administration  the  new  Cabinet 
ministers  who  ought  to  have  time  and  oppor-    interference 
tunity  to  study  the  needs  of  their  respective     withExecu- 

1  .  .  1   .  •         .t      '         .  .  '  ,        *iv6  Ftinctions 

departments  and  to  give  their  attention  to  de-  prevention  of 
partmental  problems,  and  who  would  naturallv       *^®  ^"^^^ 

1  -111-  ,  Service. 

rely  upon  experienced  subordinates,  are  pressed 

hard  by  applicants  for  places  and  the  places  of  even  these 

most  reliable  subordinates  are  demanded.     The  President 

himself   can   hardly  find  time  for  his  important  public 

duties.' 

The  Constitution  makes  the  President  responsible  for 
appointments.  The  spoils  system  virtually  takes  this 
power  from  him,  while  it  at  the  same  time  deprives  him 
of  much  time  and  strength  needed  for  the  great  duties 
of  his  office.  At  the  same  time  it  reduces  Senators 
and  Representatives  to  the  position  of  office-brokers  who 
are  compelled  to  give  a  large  share  of  their  time  and 
strength  to  the  distribution  of  offices  in  their  districts. 
This  is  not  the  business  of  a  legislator.  He  should  be 
allowed  to  attend  to  the  business  of  framing  and  promot- 
ing public  policies.  The  Congressman's  business  is  states- 
manship ;  it  is  not  merely  getting  pensions  and  places  and 
public  buildings  for  his  district.  The  spoils  system  tends 
to  prop  up  the  little  men  who  depend  on  a  machine  of 
office-holders  to  keep  them  in  place.  It  restrains  states- 
manship by  discouraging  men  whose  political  spirit  and 
ability  and  conceptions  of  public  measures  would  fit  them 
for  public  life. 

5.  The   spoils   system   is   undemocratic.      Democracy 

'  It  is  reported  that  when  one  of  President  Lincoln's  Illinois  con- 
stituents expressed  concern  at  the  careworn  face  of  the  President  during 
the  troubles  of  the  Civil  War  and  expressed  the  hope  that  the  burdens  of 
the  war  would  not  break  him  down,  Mr.  Lincoln  replied,  "Judge,  it  isn't 
the  rebellion  that  is  killing  me,  it  is  your  confounded  Pepperton  post-office." 


262  Political  Parties  and  Party  Problems 

rests  on  equal  rights.  It  opposes  privilege  and  favoritism. 
But  the  spoils  system  rests  on  privilege  and  favoritism, 
5  Democracy  — ^^^  privilege  of  influential  politicians  to  dis- 
and  the  Merit  pose  of  the  public  offices  in  favor  of  their  party 
System.  workers.     The  offices  belong  to  all  the  people. 

They  are  not  party  property.  All  who  are  fit  should 
have  an  equal  chance  to  occupy  these  offices  and  all 
should  have  an  equal  chance  to  become  fit.  The 
spoils  system  does  not  encourage  fitness  and  does  not  give 
an  equal  chance  to  all.  Only  a  few  can  gain  the  favor  and 
influence  of  the  political  boss.  Influence  wins  as  against 
merit.  A  young  man  who  has  rich  and  powerful  friends 
may  get  a  place  if  he  is  of  the  right  party.  The  poor 
boy,  unknown  at  court,  has  little  chance.  The  "classified 
service"  under  the  merit  system,  on  the  other  hand,  is 
made  up  of  those  who  by  some  kind  of  test  have  proven 
their  fitness  for  the  duties  to  be  performed.  It  may  be, 
in  the  first  place,  by  a  competitive  examination  and  then 
by  a  period  of  probation  before  final  appointment.  An 
appointee's  character  is  vouched  for,  but,  in  any  case,  his 
appointment  does  not  depend  on  the  personal  influence 
that  he  can  bring  to  bear,  nor  on  his  party  activity,  nor 
on  his  religious  or  political  creed.  All  have  the  same 
chance,  the  sons  of  the  poor  with  the  sons  of  the  rich,  the 
protege  of  a  Senator  with  the  young  man  who  has  noth- 
ing to  offer  but  his  merit.  And  when  it  is  known  that 
the  officer's  security,  and  promotion,  depend  upon  his 
merit  and  his  efficiency  and  faithfulness,  this  inspires  his 
work  and  encourages  him  to  excel. 

The  spoils  system  is  destined  to  disappear.  During 
the  last  twenty  years  it  has  been  rapidly  giving  way  to 
Rise  and  *^^  merit  system.  It  came  in  as  an  innovation 
DecUne  of  the  and  a  usurpation.  Our  fathers  never  imagined 
polls  System.  £^^  ^  moment  that  it  would  come  into  our  poli- 
tics. Washington  declared  that  in  every  nomination  he 
had  "endeavored  to  make  fitness  of  character  his  primary 


The  Spoils  System  263 

object."  In  the  first  thirty-nine  years  of  the  history  of 
the  Government,  up  to  1829,  the  six  men  who  in  this 
period  occupied  the  presidency  made  but  112  removals, 
and  all  for  reasonable  cause.  None  of  these  great  men 
supposed  that  party  service  should  be  considered  a  reason 
for  public  appointment.  The  spoils  system  came  into  full 
operation  with  Jackson  in  1829.  The  foundation  for  its 
introduction  and  triumph  was  undesignedly  laid  in  1789 
by  the  decision  of  the  First  Congress  that  the  sole  power 
of  removal  was  vested  in  the  President, — a  decision  which 
placed  almost  every  position  of  the  civil  service  uncon- 
ditionally at  the  President's  pleasure.  Madison  favored 
this  decision.  Fifty  years  later  Webster  opposed  his 
opinion  to  that  of  Madison.  In  1820  the  Four- Year  Law 
was  passed  under  the  influence  of  Secretary  Crawford,  of 
the  Treasury  Department.  This  law  was  an-  jhe  Four- 
other  decisive  triumph  for  the  spoils  system.  Year  Law, 
Under  it  the  terms  of  office  were  limited  to  '^^°* 

four  years.  The  act  was  passed,  as  Thomas  H.  Benton 
and  John  Quincy  Adams  testify,  that  Crawford  might 
have  the  benefit  of  the  office-holders'  influence  in  his  race 
for  the  presidency.  "The  decision  of  1789,  which  gave 
the  sole  power  of  removal  to  the  President,  required  posi- 
tive executive  action  to  effect  removal ;  but  this  law  of 
1820  vacated  all  the  chief  financial  offices,  with  all  the 
places  dependent  on  them,  during  the  term  of  every 
President,  who,  without  an  order  of  removal,  could  fill 
them  all  at  his  pleasure."  *  The  spoils  system  prevailed 
uninterruptedly,  though  not  without  protest,  for  more 
than  thirty  years.  Agitation  for  reform  began  Beginning  of 
in  1867,  led  in  Congress  by  Hon.  Thomas  A.  civii  service 
Jenckes,  a  member  from  Rhode  Island.    George  ®  °"°* 

William  Curtis  became  President  of  a  Civil  Service  Com- 
mission under  President  Grant  and  he  wrote  a  notable 
report  on  the  subject  in  1871,  calling  public  attention 
» George  Wm.  Curtis  on  "  The  Spoils  System,"  Sept.  8,  i88i,  Orations, 


264  Political  Parties  and  Party  Problems 

forcibly  to  the  need  of  reform.  Congress  was  apathetic 
and  indifferent  and  failed  to  make  appropriations  to  sus- 
tain the  Civil  Service  Commission,  though  Presidents 
Grant  and  Hayes  both  favored  the  reformed  system,  and 
Mr.  Carl  Schurz,  Secretary  of  the  Interior  under  President 
Hayes,  made  notable  application  of  the  reform  in  his  de- 
partment. Unseemly  party  quarrels  in  New  York  in  188 1 
between  "Stalwarts"  and  "Half-Breeds"  over  patronage, 
and  the  assassination  of  President  Garfield  by  a  disap- 
pointed place-seeker,  aroused  public  sentiment  in  favor 
of  the  reform,  and  in  1883  the  Pendleton  Civil  Service 
The  Pendleton  Reform  Bill  was  passed.  This  law  provides  for 
Act,  1883.  open  competitive  examinations  for  admission 
to  the  public  service;  for  the  appointment  of  a  Civil 
Service  Commission  of  three  members,  no  more  than  two 
of  whom  shall  be  of  the  same  political  party ;  and  for  the 
apportionment  of  appointments  according  to  the  popula- 
tion of  the  States.  Provision  was  made  for  a  period  of 
probation  before  permanent  appointment  should  be  made, 
and  no  recommendations  from  a  Senator  or  member  of 
Congress,  except  as  to  character  or  residence  of  the  appli- 
cant, should  be  received  or  considered  by  any  person 
making  an  appointment  or  examination.  The  law  pro- 
hibits political  assessments. 

Since  the  Pendleton  Act  became  a  law.  Civil  Service 
Reform  has  steadily  advanced  under  each  successive  Ad- 
ministration, though  all  the  Presidents  since  that  time 
have  made  removals  and  appointments  for  which  they 
have  been  criticised  by  the  ardent  friends  of  the  reform. 
The  classified  service  has  been  steadily  extended,  the  re- 
form has  come  into  greater  popular  favor,  and  it  is  safe 
to  say  it  will  suffer  no  defeat  nor  detriment  during  the 
term  of  office  of  President  Roosevelt,  who  has  been  one 
of  the  foremost  and  most  formidable  opponents  the  spoils 
system  has  ever  encountered.  In  the  struggle  against 
the  spoils   system   the   National   Civil   Service   Reform 


The  Spoils  System  265 

League,  under  the  presidency  of  George  William  Curtis 
and  Carl  Schurz,  has  been  a  powerful  factor  in  exposing 
and  combating  spoils  politics. 

REFERENCES 

The  literature  on  the  Spoils  System  and  Civil  Service  Reform  is  quite 
extensive.  For  the  many  magazine  articles  the  student  should  consult 
Poole's  Index  to  Periodical  Literature.  Of  the  extensive  material  on  the 
subject  the  following  may  be  mentioned  : 

1.  Annual  Reports  of  the  National  Civil  Service  Reform  League  and  the 

other  publications  of  this  society. 

2.  Orations  and  Addresses  of  George  William  Curtis^  vol,  ii. 

3.  Johnston's  American  Orations,  vol.  iv. 

4.  Bryce,  American  Commonwealth,  vol.  ii.,  chap,  on  "  The  Spoils." 

5.  Macy,  Political  Parties  in  the  United  States,  chap,  on  "  The  Spoils 

System." 

6.  George  S.  Bernard,  Civil  Service  Reform  vs.  The  Spoils  System. 

7.  Roosevelt,  Theodore,  "  Six  Years  of  Civil  Service  Reform,  Scribner's 

Magazine,  August,  1895,  republished  in  American  Ideals. 

8.  Senator  H,  C.  Lodge,  "  Why  Patronage  in  Office  is  Un-American,'* 

Century  Magazine,  October,  1890. 

9.  Tyler,  Lyon  G.,  Parties  and  Patronage  in  the  United  States. 

10.  Files  of  the  Civil  Service   Chronicle  (Indianapolis,  Lucius  B.  Swift, 

Editor). 

11.  Eaton,  Dorman  B.,  Civil  Service  in  Great  Britain. 

12.  Publications  of    the    New  York  Civil    Service   Reform  Association 

(Wm.  Potts,  Secretary,  or  G.  P.  Putnam's  Sons). 

13.  See  the  Periodical  Indexes  for  magazine  articles. 


CHAPTER  XVIII 

PARTY   ASSESSMENTS 

THE  spoils  system  in  national,  State,  and  city  politics 
has  called  public  attention  to  the  evils  growing  out 
of  party  assessments. 

Under  party  government  the  necessity  of  supporting 

the  party  must  be  recognized.     To  this  end  the  party 

must  have  an  organization, — a  body  of  men 

IV^cccssitv  of 

Party  Or-  acting  together  under  some  directing  head, 
ganization  and  who,  like  the  organs  in  the  body,  perform  the 
functions  expected  of  them.  This  is  the  ma- 
chine,— the  managing,  working  force  of  the  party.  No 
party  can  exist,  no  political  work  can  be  done,  no  cause 
can  be  promoted  by,  or  within,  a  party  without  a  ma- 
chine. Without  machine  organization  the  democracy  is 
helpless.  If  you  want  to  nominate  a  good  man  for  office, 
or  get  a  good  law  passed,  you  must  organize  a  machine; 
that  is,  the  agents  for  getting  the  thing  done  must  work 
together,  and  some  men  must  be  leaders  to  direct  while 
others  must  be  subordinates  to  obey.  Political  machinery 
is  the  means  by  which  people  act  together  in  politics, 
under  common  direction  for  a  common  purpose. 

Many  people  have  come  to  think  of  the  party  machine 
as  an  evil  in  itself.  It  is  not  an  evil,  not  even  a  necessary 
evil.  It  is  a  necessary  benefit.  But  to  maintain  the 
organization  and  to  enable  it  to  do  for  the  party  what  is 
necessary,  requires  a  great  deal  of  money  and  a  vast 

266 


Party  Assessments  267 

amount  of  hard  party  work.*  In  campaign  times  a  num- 
ber of  men,  many  of  whom  must  be  men  of  large  ability, 
capable  of  acting  as  the  captains  of  the  forces,  as  the 
managers  and  directors  of  an  army  of  helpers,  must  give 
their  entire  time  to  the  party  work.  It  is  right 
that  these  men  should  be  paid  and  paid  well  shouid^e- 
for  their  time  and  labor.     It  would  be  noble      ceive  Party 

Pay 

and  unselfish  for  them  to  donate  their  time  and 
their  talents ;  and  the  men  engaged  in  politics  probably 
do  this  as  much  as  any  set  of  men  give  themselves  to  any 
cause.  But  the  men  of  the  party  who  go  about  their 
business,  making  and  saving  money,  have  no  right  to  ex- 
pect such  a  sacrifice.  Patriotism  does  not  demand  it,  for 
we  are  all  equally  interested  in  the  party  triumph,  or  in 
the  good  government,  which,  it  is  supposed,  the  party  is 
working  for. 

It  does  not  follow,  however,  that  the  party  agents 
should  be  paid  by  their  election  to  public  offices.  They 
should  be  paid  out  of  the  party  treasury,  not  out  of  the 
public  treasury.  The  disposition  to  nominate  a  man  for 
office  because  of  his  party  service  is  apt  to  lead  to  a  dis- 
regard of  the  qualifications  necessary  for  that  office. 
Because  a  man  has  rendered  a  party  service  is  no  reason 
for  electing  him  to  any  office  for  which  he  may  be  dis- 
posed to  announce  himself.  He  should  be  paid,  when 
paid  at  all,  by  the  citizens  who  believe  in  the  party  cause, 
not  by  those  who  oppose  that  cause.  To  take  public 
money  to  reward  a  party  service  is  an  injustice  to  men  of 
other  parties ; — it  would  be  like  taking  public  money  to 
support  a  religious  teacher  or  organizer.  It  is  a  maxim 
with  Americans  that  those  who  believe  in  a  religious  cause 
should  pay  for  its  support;  men  of  another  religion,  or 
of  no  religion,  should  not  be  taxed  to  pay.  Likewise, 
let  those  who  believe  in  the  party  cause  pay  for  its  sup- 
port, but  men  of  the  opposite  party  should  not  be  taxed 

*  See  p.  242. 


268  Political  Parties  and  Party  Problems 

to  pay.  If  in  this  respect  we  were  as  bad  in  our  religion 
as  we  are  in  our  politics  it  would  be  quite  startling  to  the 
average  American.  But  to  tax  Republicans — that  is,  to 
use  the  salary  of  an  office — to  reward  a  Democrat  for  party 
service,  would  be  the  same  in  principle.  No  one  objects 
to  party  workers  having  pecuniary  rewards ;  they  should 
have  pay  in  proportion  to  what  their  time  and  service 
may  be  worth,  if  they  do  not  wish  to  contribute  their 
time  and  service  voluntarily.  It  is  the  source  and 
methods  of  these  rewards,  not  the  rewards  themselves, 
that  are  objectionable. 
Sources  of  The    usual   sources   of    party   revenue    are 

Party  Revenue,  familiar : 

1.  Public  subscriptions  among  members  of  the  party. 
This  is  legitimate  and  public  spirited,  and  it  should  be 

encouraged. 

2.  Private  contributions  of  rich  men  and  corporations 
who  are  interested  in  securing  the  passage  of  special  legis- 
lation through  the  success  of  the  party.  Such  contribu- 
tions may  be  innocent,  but  they  are  often  questionable, 
and  if  the  legislation  sought  is  for  selfish  instead  of 
public  ends,  they  are  very  corrupting  in  their  results. 

3.  The  agents  of  the  party  in  power  secretly  appropri- 
ate public  funds, — of  the  city,  county,  or  State.  This  is 
manifestly  a  corrupt  source.  It  is  a  direct  robbery  of  the 
public  treasury  and  a  palpable  means  of  political  bribery. 

4.  The  party  managers  levy  an  assessment  upon  the 
office-holders  belonging  to  the  party,  or  upon  the  candi- 
dates seeking  office  through  the  party. 

5.  The  outright  sale  of  nominations,  or  of  the  offices 
themselves. 

Most  of  these  are  corrupt  processes.  They  are  so  pal- 
pably evil  and  offensive  as  to  need  no  word  of  exposure 
or  comment.  They  are  universally  condemned  by  public 
sentiment,  although  not  uniformly  punished  by  execution 
of  public  law. 


Party  Assessments  269 

Public  sentiment,  however,  has  been  more  tolerant 
toward  the  practice  of  levying  party  assessments  on  office- 
holders and  candidates.  The  practice  has  been  so  gener- 
ally accepted  and  applied  in  party  usage,  that  it  has 
become  an  evil  of  great  proportions. 

This  practice  is  sustained  very  largely,  as  we  have  said, 
from  a  false  view  of  public  office.  The  office  is  looked  to 
as  a  party  resource  for  party  use.     Underlying  party 


the  party  assessment  is  the  idea,  also,  that  the  ™«°ts  Based 
party  office-holder  and  the  candidate  are  the  ideaofPubUc 
ones  for  whom  the  office  exists  and  the  election  ^®*^®- 

is  held.  "The  candidates  are  seeking  the  office  for  their 
own  profit;  they  are  the  ones  who  enjoy  the  fruits  of 
victory;  it  is  the  candidates,  if  elected,  who  obtain  the 
salaries  and  the  emoluments  of  office;  therefore  from 
their  pockets  should  come  the  funds  necessary  to  enable 
the  party  managers  to  carry  on  the  campaign."  This  is 
a  very  common  view  and  it  has  led  to  the  party  managers* 
establishing  an  extensive  and  refined  system  of  party 
assessments.  The  practice  rests  upon  the  idea  that  the 
officer  is  to  have  the  benefit  of  a  good  place  instead  of 
the  place  having  the  benefit  of  a  good  officer.  A  doubt- 
ful candidate  who  will  pay  for  the  place  is,  therefore,  pre- 
ferred by  the  party  managers  to  a  better  candidate  who  will 
earn  his  salary  and  refuse  to  pay  for  a  place  on  the  ticket. 
The  evils  of  the  system  are  obvious. 

1.  Offices  are  graded  for  what  they  are  worth,  and  they 
are  to  be  paid  for  by  the  candidates  on  the  Evils  of 
basis  of  the  salaries  expected.  It  is  like  put-  Assessments, 
ting  up  the  offices  for  public  sale,  with  a  list  price. 

2.  It  promotes  the  candidacy  of  rich  men.  Only  the 
man  with  a  *  *  barrel ' '  can  stand  the  growing  assessments. 
On  the  other  hand,  poor  men  more  capable  and  men  of 
moderate  means  are  excluded.  The  State  or  the  com- 
munity may  be  deprived  of  the  service  of  its  best  men. 
In  a  typical  State  of  the  Middle  West  a  man  of  politic* 


2  70  Political  Parties  and  Party  Problems 

spirit  and  great  ability,  capable  of  high  service,  is  con- 
strained to  refuse  to  become  a  candidate  for  Governor, — 
because  he  "cannot  afford  the  necessary  expense."  He 
would  have  first  to  be  assessed,  say,  $2500  by  the  State 
committee.  He  would  have  to  meet  the  personal  ex- 
penses of  an  extensive  campaign,  giving  his  time  and 
using  his  own  money,  while  ** heelers  "  and  "strikers  "  of 
high  and  low  degree  attack  him  for  contributions  on  all 
sides.  If  he  comes  to  election  day  on  less  than  $10,000 
he  may  be  considered  fortunate.  This  is  a  stupendous 
public  wrong,  yet  it  is  illustrative  of  a  condition  quite 
prevalent  in  our  politics.  It  directly  discourages  the 
good  and  encourages  the  bad  elements  in  our  public  life. 
3.  Thus,  the  system  of  assessments  promotes  the  can- 
didacy of  the  venal  and  corrupt.  The  corrupt  politician 
who  submits  to  the  extortion  of  party  assessments  does 
so  with  the  fixed  purpose  of  recovering  the  money  by 
corrupt  means  or  using  his  place  for  corrupt  ends  after  he 
is  elected.  This  is  a  part  of  the  calculation  of  the  corrupt 
candidate.  There  will  be  city  jobbery,  connivance  with 
criminals,  treasury  defalcations,  fraudulent  franchises,  for 
in  some  way  the  heavy  assessments  must  be  recovered. 
Mr.  Bryce  refers  to  the  defence  by  a  New  York  boss  of 
the  large  salaries  paid  to  aldermen  on  the  ground  that 
heavy  demands  were  made  on  them  by  their  parties. 
So,  after  all,  the  public  treasury  pays  the  election  ex- 
penses of  office-seekers.  The  system  tends  directly  to 
political  temptation  and  the  ruin  of  character.  The  man 
who  stays  in  politics  and  submits  to  these  exactions 
suffers  severely  in  moral  tone  unless  he  is  a  notable  ex- 
ception to  the  rest  of  mankind.  On  the  other  hand,  the 
public-spirited,  the  conscientious,  the  upright,  who  object 
to  corrupt  methods,  cannot  afford  to  stand  for  public 
office.  No  practice  tends  more  directly  toward  the  de- 
basement of  our  political  morals  and  the  degeneracy  in 
character  of  the  public  service.     Assessments  upon 


Party  Assessments  271 

candidates  should  not  only  not  be  imposed,  but  they 
should  be  prohibited. 

4.  Assessments  are  directly  and  inevitably  connected 
with  electoral  bribery  and  corruption.  Usually  the  end 
in  view  in  a  party  assessment  is  the  party  corruption 
fund.  But  for  the  well-known  fact  that  such  funds,  or 
"pools,"  are  always  raised  by  these  assessments,  plenty 
of  legitimate  money  would  be  forthcoming  from  the  free 
and  voluntary  contributions  of  party  members.  Thus 
healthy  party  activity  and  support  are  restrained. 

5.  The  system  increases  the  expense  of  elections  and 
thus  encourages  corruption. 

6.  The  assessment  funds  are  placed  in  irresponsible 
hands  without  account.  This  also  encourages  the  un- 
scrupulous and  corrupt  use  of  money.  The  assessments 
paid  are  often  used  by  corrupt  boodlers  not  for  party 
ends  at  all,  but  for  selfish  ends.  It  is  kept  in  their  own 
pockets.  No  accounting  can  be  demanded.  The  assess- 
ments are  paid  for  corrupt  purposes  and  complaints  are 
estopped,  though  suits  have  been  known  by  candidates 
to  recover  corruption  money  diverted  by  boodlers  to 
their  own  use. 

The  abuse  of  assessments  has  gone  so  far  that  in  many 
places  a  man  is  not  allowed  to  become  a  candidate,  his 
name  is  not  allowed  to  go  before  the  party  convention, 
until  he  pays  an  assessment  to  help  defray  the  party  ex- 
penses. So  the  people,  instead  of  being  allowed  to  choose 
their  own  officers,  may  only  vote  for  those  who,  in  a  sense, 
consent  to  pay  for  their  places. 

In  the  face  of  the  expensive  campaigns  which  this  sys- 
tem promotes  a  public  candidacymeans  to  most  men  either 
moral  ruin  or  financial  bankruptcy,  or  both.  Very  few 
men  can  withstand  its  temptations  and  its  financial  drain. 

The  nature  of  this  evil,  though  by  no  means  its  full  ex- 
tent, may  be  indicated  by  the  following  quotation  used 
by  Mr.  Bryce : 


272  Political  Parties  and  Party  Problems 

*'A  judgeship  in  New  York  costs  about  $1500;  the  district 
attorneyship  the  same ;  for  a  nomination  to  Congress  the  price 
Conditions  ^^  about  $4000,  though  this  is  variable;  an  alder- 
under  manic  nomination  is  worth  $1500,  and  that  for  the 

Assessments.  Assembly  from  $600  to  $1500.  In  1887  the  City 
Chamberlain  of  New  York  estimated  the  average  minimum 
assessment  on  a  candidate  for  Mayor  at  $20,000;  for  Comp- 
troller at  $10,000,  for  District  Attorney  at  $5000.  In  1887 
the  Democratic  rings  of  New  York  City  demanded  $25,000  for 
the  nomination  to  the  ComptroUership,  and  $5000  for  that  to  a 
State  Senatorship.  The  salary  of  the  Comptroller  is  $10,000 
for  three  years;  that  of  Senator  $1500  for  two  years.  That  is, 
the  Senatorial  candidate  was  expected  to  pay  $2000  more  than 
the  total  salary, — a  fact  suggestive  of  expectations  of  gains 
from  some  other  source.  In  Massachusetts  Congressmen  have 
paid  $12,000." 

The  same  practice  has  come  to  prevail  in  Western  rural 
districts.  It  is  safe  to  say  that  in  counties  of  moderate 
size  the  nominees  for  county  offices  are  assessed  by  the 
party  committee  from  $200  to  $500,  or  more.  The  total 
campaign  expenses  of  the  candidate  for  one  of  the  best 
offices  often  reaches  as  high  as  $1800  or  $2000.  This  ap- 
plies to  a  four-year  office,  the  salary  of  which  may  be 
about  $2500.  It  seems  the  salary  is  altogether  too  high 
if  men  are  willing  to  pay  so  much  to  get  the  place.  The 
result  of  the  system  is  to  exclude  from  the  county  offices 
men  of  first-class  qualifications.  Usually  the  claim  is  not 
made  for  the  candidate  that  he  is  qualified  for  the  work  of 
the  office.* 

'  It  is  related  that  when  it  was  proposed  in  a  certain  county  to  make  a 
man  deputy  auditor,  objection  was  made  that  he  was  ' '  not  competent  to 
be  deputy  auditor  ;  he  was  not  even  competent  to  be  auditor."  The  can- 
didate for  auditor  must  be  a  man  who  is  popular  with  the  voters  and  who 
is  willing  and  able  to  spend  enough  money  to  be  elected.  A  deputy,  who 
is  required  to  be  competent  to  take  care  of  the  office,  can  be  appointed  at 
a  lower  salary, — unless  the  auditor  has  bargained  away  the  deputyship  for 
the  nomination  or  for  support  in  the  election. 


Party  Assessments  273 

It  is  not  surprising,  in  the  face  of  these  woful  conditions, 
which  we  have  by  no  means  adequately  portrayed,  that 
it  is  increasingly  difficult  to  induce  sfood  men  ^  „ 

°  -^  **  A  Summary  of 

to  stand  for  the  local  public  offices ;  that  there  Assessment 
are  waste  and  extravagance  in  public  adminis-  ^^^* 

tration;  that  the  law  cannot  be  enforced  against  crimi- 
nals because  officers  of  the  law  have  themselves  secured 
their  election  by  criminal  processes ;  that  county  officers 
resist  a  reduction  of  salaries  and  organize  to  oppose  fair 
fee  and  salary  laws ;  that  *  *  politics  ' '  proves  the  ruin  of 
good  men,  and  that  good  citizens  become  more  and  more 
disgusted  with  politics  and  turn  to  their  private  pursuits 
and  leave  the  offices  to  the  corruptionist  and  the  spoils- 
man? It  is  very  reasonably  said  that  this  practice  of 
assessing  and  bleeding  public  candidates  is  "a  festering 
sore  that  will  taint  the  whole  body  politic,  make  elections 
a  farce,  and  destroy  the  republic. ' ' 

Many  remedies  have  been  proposed  for  these  evils. 
The  Civil  Service  Law  is  designed  to  protect  the  office- 
holders. 

No  office-holder  shall  solicit  or  receive  assess-  Proposed 
ments  or  contributions  in  any  way  whatever  from  Remedies, 
other  officers. 

No  officer  shall  solicit  such  assessments  in  any  public  build- 
ing. 

No  officer  shall  be  jeopardized  in  his  position  by  his  con- 
tributing or  refusing  to  contribute  to  campaign  funds. 

No  office-holder  shall  give  to  another  office-holder  any 
money,  for  any  political  object. 

This  law  is  to  protect  employees  and  to  prevent  office- 
holders from  taking  an  unbecoming  part  in  political 
solicitation. 

To  restrain  corrupt  practices  in  local  politics  it  is  pro- 
posed : 


^74  Political  Parties  and  Party  Problems 

1.  That  the  party  committeeman  should  be  made  a  public 
officer  and  the  party  committee  should  be  brought  under  pub- 
lic control.  The  purpose  is  to  limit  expenses  to  strictly  legiti- 
mate purposes.  The  Committee  should  be  compelled  to  keep 
an  account  of  all  money  expended  and  the  purpose  for  which 
it  is  spent.  This  should  be  open  to  public  inspection,  together 
with  the  amount  received  and  its  source.  Failure  to  keep 
such  a  record  should  be  a  misdemeanor. 

2.  That  there  should  be  a  limitation  on  the  expenditures  of 
candidates.  Each  candidate  should  be  required  to  keep  an 
itemized  account  of  all  money  expended  and  the  purposes  for 
which  expended, — this  account  to  be  open  to  public  inspection 
by  publication,  or  by  being  posted  in  a  public  place.  No 
officer  should  receive  a  certificate  of  election  until  such  an  ac- 
count is  filed  with  the  proper  officer,  and  if  it  can  be  shown 
that  he  has  violated  the  corrupt  practices  act,  that  should  in- 
validate his  election.  Candidates  and  committees  are  to  be 
put  on  oath  as  to  their  accounts. 

By  these  and  other  such  provisions  efforts  have  been 
made  to  remedy  these  evils  by  law.*  The  evils  are  con- 
fessedly difficult  to  reach.  But  the  lav^s  should  give  all 
possible  support  to  public  morals.  If  the  laws  against 
corrupt  practices  fail  it  may  be  because  the  penalties  are 
too  light,  or  there  is  no  one  whose  duty  it  is  to  enforce 
the  law,  or  those  whose  duty  it  is  fail  to  act.  But  pub- 
lic sentiment  is  stronger  than  law.  If  the  people  are 
corrupt,  if  their  political  ideals  are  low,  if  they  do  not  de- 
mand by  their  political  sentiment  and  their  political  prac- 
tice the  prevention  of  these  evils,  laws  and  mechanical 
devices  will  do  but  little  good.'' 

'  See  Corrupt  Practices  Acts  of  several  of  the  States. 

'See  "Assessments"  in  Lalor's  Cyclopedia  of  Political  Science  \  Bryce, 
vol.  ii.,  p.  119  ;  North  American  Review ^  vol.  cxxxv.  ;  Atlantic  Monthly^ 
vol.  Ixx.,  and  Poole's  Index  for  other  magazine  articles. 


CHAPTER   XIX 

THE   GERRYMANDER 

THE  Gerrymander  consists  in  laying  out  electoral  dis- 
tricts in  such  a  way  as  to  give  the  political  party 
conducting  the  operation  an  unfair  advantage  The  Gerry- 
over  its  opponent.  The  party  conducting  a  mander. 
gerrymander  for  congressional  purposes  seeks  to  group 
into  a  few  districts  the  counties  which  give  majorities  for 
its  opponents,  and  to  distribute  the  counties  having  a 
majority  of  its  own  voters  among  as  many  districts  as 
possible;  that  is,  to  throw  "the  greatest  possible  number 
of  hostile  voters  into  a  district  which  is  anyhow  certain 
to  be  hostile,  and  to  add  to  a  district  where  parties  are 
evenly  divided  a  place  in  which  the  majority  of  friendly 
voters  is  sufficient  to  turn  the  scale."  *  The  rule  of  the 
gerrymander  is  this :  Make  your  own  district  majorities 
as  small  as  is  safe;  make  your  opponents'  district  majori- 
ties as  large  and  as  few  as  possible ;  throw  away  as  few  of 
your  own  votes  and  as  many  of  your  opponents'  as  you 
can.  If,  for  instance,  a  congressional  district  is  safely 
Democratic,  the  Republican  gerrymanderer  would  throw 
as  many  Democratic  counties  into  that  district  as  possible, 
and  have  his  opponents  carry  it  by  ten  thousand  or  fifteen 
thousand  majority.  This  would  take  Democratic  counties 
away  from  several  surrounding  districts  which  might  be 
thus  made  safely  Republican.     The  purpose  is  to  enable 

^  Bryce. 
275 


276  Political  Parties  and  Party  Problems 

party  voters  to  exercise  political  power  out  of  proportion 
to  their  numbers. 

There  are  two  legal  requirements  that  act  as  impedi- 
ments in  the  way  of  the  gerrymander : 
Legal  Difficui-      ^ '  ^^^^  ^^^  districts  shall  be  composed  of 
ties  to  Gerry-  contiguous  territory. 

mandenng.  ^^  That  they  shall  contain  as  nearly  as  prac- 

ticable an  equal  number  of  inhabitants. 

The  first  of  these  is  provided  for  in  most  apportionment 
acts,  both  of  Congress  and  the  State  legislatures.  The 
second  is  provided  for  either  in  the  written  constitutions 
of  the  States,  or  in  the  apportionment  acts  of  Congress, 
or  by  the  understandings  of  the  Constitution  as  required 
by  the  fundamental  condition  of  republican  government 
that  the  people  should  be  represented  in  proportion  to 
their  numbers  and  that  the  majority  may  be  enabled  to 
express  the  popular  and  legislative  will. 

The  gerrymanderer  generally  disregards  these  require- 
ments. He  makes  the  districts  very  unequal  in  number 
_     .       ^     of  inhabitants,  and  he  evades  the  first  require- 

Evasions  of  '  ^ 

Law  in  Gerry-  ment  by  distorting  the  boundaries  of  the  dis- 
mandenng.  ^j-j^ts  and  placing  the  counties  out  of  their 
natural  position.  These  are  the  odious  features  of  the 
gerrymander,  but  they  uniformly  accompany  the  practice 
upon  any  considerable  scale. 

The  political  geography  of  a  State  of  any  considerable 
size  would  make  seriously  unjust  gerrymandering  very 
difficult,  if  not  impossible,  but  for  these  illegal  features.* 
When  a  State  is  to  be  gerrymandered  which  has,  say, 
one  hundred  counties,  unequal  in  population  and  many  of 
them  of  close  party  majorities,  the  problem  presented  is 
of  considerable  difficulty.  The  party  statistical  manipu- 
lator and  student  of  election  tables  who  evolves  from  the 
returns  and  from  the  political  geography  of  the  State  a 

•  In  New  York  in  1888  one  district  contained  107,000  population,  an- 
other 312,000,  made  so  for  party  purposes. 


The  Gerrymander  277 

combination  acceptable  to  his  party  manifests  a  high  order 
of  genius.  The  problem  requires  a  close,  attentive  study 
and  a  combining  talent  worthy  of  a  better  cause.  The 
most  skilful  gerrymanderer  cannot  avoid  running  counter 
to  the  legal  requirements  referred  to.' 

The  gerrymander  is  clearly  a  species  of  intrigue  and 
fraud.  Its  injustice  was  early  described  as  such  an  ar- 
rane^ement  of  the  districts  "as  virtually  to  dis- 

c  w  ^-  c    *.u  V  J     ThePoUtical 

franchise  one  portion  of  the  community  and  injustice  of 
to  impart  to  the  other  an  undue  share  of  po-       *^^  Gerry- 

,.   .      .    .    ri  »»  o      rr.1  f   •      1     .  '  r  mander. 

litical  influence.     '     The  political  inequity  of 

the  gerrymandering  scheme  may  be  illustrated  by  a  few 

instances : 

In  1888  the  Republican  majority  in  Ohio  was  20,5CX). 
In  1890  the  Democrats  carried  the  State  legislature  and 
redistricted  so  that  the  Republicans  could  get  only  seven 
out  of  twenty-one  Congressmen.  Later  the  Republicans 
redistricted  so  as  to  enable  them  to  carry  seventeen  Con- 
gressmen out  of  twenty-one.  A  fair  representative 
division  of  the  congressional  representation  might  have 
been  eleven  to  ten,  or  twelve  to  nine. 

In  1890,  in  Indiana,  the  Republicans  cast  216,000 
votes ;  the  Democrats  cast  238,000  votes.  The  Republi- 
cans, under  a  Democratic  gerrymander,  elected  two  Con- 
gressmen, the  Democrats  eleven  :  that  is,  each  Republican 
Congressman  from  the  State  stood  for  108,000  votes, 
while  for  each  Democratic  Congressman  there  were  only 

'  If  the  gerrymanderer's  work  is  unbearably  iniquitous  the  managers  of 
the  opposite  party  may  appeal  to  the  courts.  The  courts  will  generally 
overthrow  a  redistricting  act  when  the  written  constitution  requires  the 
districts  to  be  of  equal  population,  as  nearly  as  practicable.  The  court 
will  not  require  mathematical  equality,  but  only  a  reasonable  approach  to 
it.  After  one  unfair  gerrymander  has  been  overthrown  in  the  courts,  the 
partisan  legislature  proceeds  to  enact  another,  perhaps  not  quite  so  bad. 
This  might  be  overthrown,  too,  if  the  opposing  party  cared  to  go  to  the 
expense  and  trouble  of  testing  it. 

*  Olive  Branchy  18 14,  p.  413. 


2^Z  Political  Parties  and  Party  Problems 

21,000  votes.  Clearly  a  large  body  of  the  minority  were 
disfranchised  in  the  National  House.  It  required  five 
Republican  votes  to  equal  one  Democratic.  At  the  same 
time,  the  Democrats  had  so  redistricted  the  State  for 
legislative  purposes  that  nothing  short  of  a  political  up- 
heaval would  enable  the  Republicans  to  carry  the  legis- 
lature in  order  to  undo  the  work.'  "A  leading  politician 
of  the  State  is  said  to  have  remarked  that  he  had  so 
fixed  his  State  that  his  opponents  could  not  carry  the 
legislature  without  at  least  150,000  popular  majority."' 
Thus,  as  President  Harrison  says,  "a  minority  rule  is 
established  that  only  a  political  convulsion  can  over- 
throw." In  a  county  of  a  certain  State  to  which  were 
allotted  three  representatives  to  the  legislature,  instead 
of  electing  the  three  representatives  on  a  common  ticket 
for  the  whole  county,  the  county  was  gerrymandered  into 
districts;  one  district  was  made  to  consist  of  65,000  popu- 
lation, one  of  15,000,  and  one  of  10,000.  Presumably  the 
small  districts  were  made  safe  for  the  party,  while  the 
populous  district  was  expected  to  elect  an  opposition 
member.  In  another  county,  detached,  non-contiguous 
sections  were  united  to  make  a  legislative  district.' 

'  *  Concerning  the  origin  of  the  gerrymander  it  is  related  that 
in  1788  the  opponents  of  James  Madison  in  Virginia  attempted 

*  The  upheaval  came  in  1894. 

'  Lalor's  Cyclopedia  of  Political  Science ^  on  **  Gerrymandering." 

'  See  annual  message  of  President  Harrison,  December,  1891,  and  A.  J. 
Turner's  Science  of  Gerrymandering.  For  other  illustrations  of  inequal- 
ities in  representation  produced  by  the  gerrymander,  consult  Commons's 
Proportional  Representation. 

As  illustrations  of  the  distorted  districts,  the  reader's  attention  may  be 
called  to  the  "  Shoe  String  District  "  in  Mississippi,  250  miles  long  and  30 
miles  broad,  in  which  the  negro  vote  was  concentrated  ;  or  to  the  "Dumb- 
bell District "  in  Pennsylvania,  made  for  the  purpose  of  making  an  opposi- 
tion district  contiguous ;  or  the  Missouri  district,  which  was  made  longer 
than  the  State  itself,  "  if  traced  by  its  windings,  into  which  as  large  a  num- 
ber as  possible  of  the  negro  vote  were  thrown." 


The  Gerrymander  279 

to  defeat  him  for  election  to  the  first  Congress  under  the 
Constitution  by  making  a  hostile  district  for  him  and  provi- 
ding that  the  Representative  should  be  required  to  ongin  of  the 
live  in  the  district  from  which  he  was  chosen.  Gerrymander. 
Patrick  Henry  led  this  movement  in  opposition  to  Madison, 
and  it  was  mere  fortune  that  the  political  device  did  not  come 
to  be  known  as  *  Henrymandering.'  "  * 

"  In  1 8 14  the  trick  was  introduced  into  Massachusetts.  The 
Jeffersonian  Republicans  had  carried  the  legislature  with 
Elbridge  Gerry  as  Governor,  and  they  redistricted  the  State  in 
such  a  way  that  the  shapes  of  the  towns  forming  a  single  dis- 
trict in  Essex  County  gave  to  the  district  a  dragon-like  con- 
tour. '  This  was  indicated  upon  a  map  of  Massachusetts 
which  Benjamin  Russell,  an  ardent  Federalist  and  editor  of 
the  Ccntiitel^  hung  up  over  the  desk  in  his  office.  The  cele- 
brated painter,  Gilbert  Stuart,  coming  into  the  office  one  day 
and  observing  the  uncouth  figure,  added  with  his  pencil  a 
head,  wings,  and  claws,  and  exclaimed,  "  That  will  do  for  a 
salamander. '  *  Better  say  a  Gerrymander, '  answered  Rus- 
sell, and  thus  the  word  came  into  the  language.'  "  * 

Several  remedies  for  the  evil  of  the  gerrymander  have 
been  proposed. 

President  McKinley  proposed  that  appeal  be  made  to 
public  sentiment  and  that  this  should  demand  that  the 
districts  should  be  impartially  made  and  then  Remedies 
be  required  to  stand  till  a  new  census  be  taken.  for  the 

But  it  is  doubtful  whether  public  sentiment  can  ^^"•y^^^**®'"- 
be  relied  on  to  secure  party  fairness  when  party  spirit  runs 
high. 

President  Harrison  proposed  a  constitutional  amend- 
ment forbidding  the  States  to  elect  presidential  electors 
under  a  gerrymander,  and  it  has  been  proposed  to  give 
to  Congress  the  function  of  districting  the  States  for 

'  See  Tyler's  Life  of  Henry,  p.  313  ;  Rives's  Madison,  vol.  ii.,  pp.  653- 
655  ;  Bancroft's  History  of  the  Constitutipn^  vol,  ii,,  p.  485, 
'  Fiske,  Civil  Government,  p.  217, 


28o  Political  Parties  and  Party  Problems 

congressional  purposes.  A  gross  gerrymander  in  a  State 
affects  the  whole  country  by  giving  the  party  that  makes 
it  an  undue  advantage,  so  all  the  States  ought  to  have  a 
voice  in  control  of  this.  This  would  be  a  highly  centraliz- 
ing step  and  would  merely  substitute  congressional  gerry- 
mandering for  State  gerrymandering. 

The  most  prominent  remedy  proposed,  and  the  one 
most  seriously  considered  as  being  effective,  is  the  elec- 
tion of  Congressmen  and  other  officers,  where  feasible, 
on  a  common  ticket  under  proportional  representation. 

Proportional  Representation  is  a  plan  to  secure  the 
representation  of  minorities.  Its  purpose  is  to  defeat 
Proportional  the  gerrymander  by  giving  to  all  considerable 
Representa-     minorities   votes   in   the   legfislature   in  direct 

tion.     The  .  ,      .  t  ^,  .      .  ,       , 

"Limited  proportion  to  their  numbers.  This  is  worked 
Vote."  either  by  what  is  known  as  the  "limited  vote" 

or  by  the  "cumulative  vote."  Under  the  limited  vote, 
if  there  were  thirteen  Congressmen  to  be  elected  from  a 
State,  or  thirteen  aldermen  from  a  city,  these  should  be 
elected  on  a  common  ticket  by  the  State,  or  city,  at 
large.  No  voter  is  allowed  to  vote  for  more  than,  say, 
eight  candidates.  Each  party  may  nominate  a  list  of 
thirteen  and  seek  to  elect  as  many  as  it  can ;  but  the  min- 
ority will  be  apt  to  nominate  fewer  candidates,  and  in 
any  case  they  will  elect  five  out  of  the  thirteen  if  the  law 
gives  them  this  relative  importance. 

The  "cumulative  vote  "  also  requires  that  several  per- 
sons be  elected  on  a  common  ticket.  Each  voter  may 
The  -  cumu-  cast  as  many  votes  as  there  are  offices  to  be 
lative  Vote."  fiHed.  He  may  cast  all  his  votes  for  one  per- 
son, or  divide  them  among  different  persons,  as  he  likes. 
This  is  done  in  Illinois  in  electing  the  members  of  the 
legislature.  In  a  district  where  three  legislators  are  to  be 
elected,  the  minority  can  always  elect  one  by  arranging 
that  all  their  voters  shall  cast  the  three  votes  to  which 
each  voter  is  entitled  for  a  single  candidate.     The  ma- 


The  Gerrymander  281 

jority  voters  may  divide  their  three  votes  between  two 
candidates.  If  they  attempt  to  elect  three  they  run  the 
risk  of  electing  only  one. 

The  objection  to  these  plans  is  that  they  are  too  com- 
plicated and  impracticable,  and  that  the  result  would  be 
to  break  up  the  solidarity  of  legislative  bodies  by  intro- 
ducing minority  groups,  thus  promoting  legislative  dead- 
locks.' 

Advocates  of  the  Referendum  claim  that  their  scheme 
would  defeat  the  gerrymander  by  making  it  useless.  The 
referendum  is  a  provision  for  making  laws  or  xhe  Refer- 
determining  upon  policies,  by  a  direct  vote  of  endum. 

the  people.  Under  this  system  the  laws  would  still  be 
framed,  in  legal  form  and  phraseology,  by  representative 
agents  of  the  people,  but  the  public  policy  of  the  law  and 
the  principle  involved  must  be  referred  to  the  people  in  a 
general  election.  This  is  to  substitute  a  direct  democracy 
for  republican,  or  representative,  government.  The 
referendum  is  applied  in  America  when  the  people  vote 
on  tax  appropriations  for  roads  and  schools  or  upon  con- 
stitutional amendments ;  but  whether  it  is  applicable  to  a 
much  greater  extent  and  over  a  wide  area  is  seriously 
questioned.  It  has  been  applied  chiefly  in  the  small 
cantons  of  Switzerland. 

The  Initiative  and  Imperative  mandate  are  usually  as- 
sociated with  the  referendum.  By  the  initiative  the 
people  begin,  or  initiate,  the  law  desired,  by  xhe  initiative 
means  of  a  petition  to  the  legislature.  If  a  and  impera- 
certain  proportion  of  the  voters,  say  twenty  *^^«  ^*^<^**«- 
per  cent.,  petition  for  a  law,  this  petition  serves  as  an  im- 
perative mandate  upon  the  legislature,  and  that  body  will 

'  Proportional  representation  is  very  well  and  fully  presented  in  Pro- 
fessor John  R.  Commons's  volume  on  the  subject.  See  also  M.  M.  For- 
ney, Political  Reform  by  Representation  of  Minorities ;  D.  G.  Ritchie, 
The  Right  of  Minorities ;  Harris,  The  True  Theory  of  Representation  in 
a  State ;  J.  S.  Mill,  Representative  Government.  For  numerous  magazine 
articles  consult  Poole's  Index  and  the  Cumulative  Index, 


282  Political  Parties  and  Party  Problems 

be  bound  to  submit  to  the  people  the  question  whether 
such  a  law  shall  be  enacted.* 

REFERENCES 

1.  Forum,  July,  1890. 

2.  Carey's  Olive  Branch,  pp.  413-422  (1816). 

3.  Lalor's  Cyclopedia,  on  *'  Gerrymander  '*  and  **  Apportionment." 

4.  Fiske's  Civil  Government,  pp.  216-217. 

5.  Tyler's  Patrick  Henry,  p.  313, 

6.  Bryce,  American  Commonwealth,  p.  121, 

7.  Writings  of  Jefferson,  vol.  ii.,  p.  574. 

8.  RiVEs's  Madison,  vol.  ii.,  pp.  653-655. 

g.  Jameson's  Dictionary  of  American  History^  on  '*  Gerrymander.** 

10.  McMaster,  School  History  of  United  States,  pp.  295-296. 

11.  133  Indiana  State  Reports,  p.  igg. 

12.  Encyclopedia  Britannica,  article  on  "Apportionment." 

13.  Review  of  Reviews,  December,  1891,  *' The  Science  of  Gerrymander- 

ing," by  A.  J.  Turner,  Portage,  Wisconsin,  reviewing  the  Wisconsin 
Law,  1891. 

•  On  the  Referendum,  for  objections  see  Edwin  Maxey  in  '*  Some  Ques- 
tions of  Larger  Politics,"  and  in  the  Arena,  July,  1900  ;  for  defence  of,  see 
Cleveland's  (F.  A.)  The  Growth  of  Democracy  in  the  United  States,  pp. 
177-240.  The  Independent,  February  20,  1902,  Oberholtzer,  "  The  Refer- 
endum in  America,"  is  the  chief  authority.     See  Cumulative  Index, 


CHAPTER   XX 

PRIMARY   ELECTION   REFORM 

ONE  of  the  growing  causes  in  the  interest  of  better 
politics  is  the  movement  for  primary  election  re- 
form. It  is  believed  that  this  will  tend  to  destroy  the 
power  of  the  machine  and  the  boss.  This  reform  pro- 
poses to  nominate  party  candidates  in  a  primary  election 
of  the  party  voters  instead  of  by  a  delegate  convention. 
This  throws  the  responsibility  for  party  candidates  on 
the  whole  body  of  the  party  and  is  an  advance  toward 
a  larger  democracy.  The  demand  for  the  q.  .  ^.  ^  ^ 
primary  election  has  come  from  the  feeling  the  Delegate 
that  the  delegate  convention  has  become  ^^^«°**°**- 
corrupt ;  that  the  convention  is  manipulated  by  rings  of 
professional  politicians  and  office-holders;  that* 'deals" 
are  made  and  delegates  are  bought  and  sold ;  that  a  mere 
handful  of  men  determine  the  action  of  the  convention, 
and  that  the  rank  and  file  of  the  party,  who  cannot  make 
politics  their  business  and  who  will  not  indulge  in  dis- 
honorable practices,  cannot  make  their  influence  felt. 

The  Primary,  it  is  claimed,  will  give  all  an  equal 
chance.  We  are  governed  by  parties.  It  is  only  through 
parties  that  the  people  can  rule.  Whether  we  are  to 
have  good  government  or  bad  government  depends  upon 
how  the  party — especially  the  dominant  party — is  con- 
ducted. Therefore,  the  preliminary  party  meeting  at 
which  candidates  are  named,  or  delegates  are  appointed, 

283 


284  Political  Parties  and  Party  Problems 

or  policies  determined  upon,  is  of  vital  concern  in  popular 
government.  If  the  people  can  only  ratify  or  reject  at 
the  general  election  what  this  preliminary  party  meeting 
has  determined  upon,  they  will  exercise  but  little  control ; 
If  the  People  ^.nd  if  they  leave  the  preliminary  meetings  of 
are  to  Govern,  both  parties  to  be  managed  by  a  handful  of  in- 
Govern  their  terested  professionals,  the  people  will  find  that 
Parties.  j-^e  general  election  will  present  only  a  choice 

between  two  evils,  and  instead  of  having  government  of 
the  people,  for  the  people,  and  by  the  people  we  shall 
have  a  government  of,  by,  and  for  the  bosses.  If  the 
people  are  to  rule  under  party  government,  the  party 
organization  and  its  action  must  be  brought  under  popular 
control;  party  government  must  be  made  truly  repre- 
sentative in  order  that  the  majority  may  rule.  The  fun- 
damental purpose  of  primary  election  reform  is  to  secure 
this  by  taking  party  elections,  preliminary  to  the  general 
election,  out  of  unregulated,  irresponsible  private  man- 
agement and  by  placing  these  elections  under  regulated 
State  control,  with  provision  against  fraud,  mistake,  or 
neglect,  where  every  man  may  count  one,  and  no  man 
more  than  one,  where  there  will  be  equal  chances  for  all 
and  special  chances  for  none.  If  the  party  is  to  be  re- 
garded as  a  kind  of  private  corporation  whose  business  is 
to  be  managed  by  a  set  of  professionals ;  and  if,  in  the 
party  primary,  or  caucus,  the  boss  is  to  appoint  the  chair- 
man who  is  to  name  the  committee  to  name  the  delegates ; 
if  party  caucuses  are  called  to  meet  in  saloons  or  other 
uncomfortable  and  disreputable  places ;  and  if  the  profes- 
sional chairman  makes  decisions  according  to  the  "ma- 
jority of  noise,"  or  appoints  counters  to  retire  to  count 
the  votes  that  have  been  deposited  in  a  hat  passed  round 
in  a  promiscuous  crowd ;  or  if,  after  delegates  are  elected 
at  precinct  meetings,  the  convention,  through  its  "creden- 
tials committee"  in  star  chamber,  always  finds,  or  makes, 
a  majority  subservient  to  the  boss, — then  no  matter  how 


Primary  Election  Reform  285 

much  honest  men  may  strive  in  the  party  they  will  find 
striving  in  vain.  They  will  quit  politics  as  unprofitable 
business.  They  will  retire  from  party  meetings  and  the 
party  will  be  given  over  more  and  more  to  the  unscrupu- 
lous professionals.  This  is  what  has  happened,  to  a  large 
extent.  It  is  in  this  way  that  independents  are  made, 
and  the  effective  service  of  honest  men  is  lost  for  party 
government.  If  party  government  is  to  be  good  govern- 
ment these  men  must  be  kept  with  the  party  to  work 
with  it  and  through  it. 

The  purpose  of  primary  election  reform  is  to  prevent 
these  evils  and  to  restore  the  government  of  the  party  to 
the  masses  of  its  voters.  The  reform  involves 
allowing  the  people  either  to  nominate  good  the  Reform 
candidates  directly,  or  allowing  them  a  fair  inPubUc 
chance  to  elect  delegates  to  a  convention  for 
that  purpose,  and  to  prevent  the  delegates  after  they  are 
elected  from  being  unseated  in  the  convention.  This  is 
the  substantial  part  of  the  reform. 

If  all  party  officers  and  party  candidates  are  to  be 
named  at  primary  elections,  this,  of  course,  will  do  away 
entirely  with  the  delegate  convention.  This  is  the  object 
of  many  primary  election  reformers.  They  think  the 
convention  is  beyond  repair.  To  this  system  of  making 
nominations  and  to  the  successful  working  of  a  good 
primary  election  law  the  following  features  are  considered 
essential : 

I.  The  Primary  Elections  of  all  parties  should  be  held 
together  in  every  election  precinct  on  the  same  day.  The 
time  and  place  of  these  elections  should  be 

Essential 

fixed  by  law  and  not  left  to  be  determined  by  Features  of  a 
party  committees.  In  this  way  the  election  ^"^'J 
day  will  be  known,  the  polling  places  will  be  Law. 

fixed  and  not  precarious;  machine  gerryman-  ^-  p^^Jf°* 
dering  and  snap  primaries  will  be  prevented; 
and  the  voters   of   one   party  will   be   prevented   from 


286  Political  Parties  and  Party  Problems 

packing  the   Primary   of  the  other  for  the  purpose  of 
nominating  weak  candidates  for  their  opponents. 

2.  A  good  registration  law.     The  party  voters  must  be 

registered  a  certain  number  of  days  before  the 

2.  Registration.      °  ^         r    i  •  •  . 

Primary.  Careful  registration  always  tends  to 
promote  fair  elections. 

3.  The   right  to  vote  at  a  party  Primary  should  be 
secured   against  fraud  by  the  registration   of  the  party 

affiliation,  or  preference  of  all  voters  who  seek 
tection,  with  ^^  vote  at  the  Primary.  No  opponent  of  a 
Reasonable      party  has  a  right  to  participate  in  its  Primary. 

Recognition      il,       ,  ,         ,  ,  ^  .  / 

of  the  The  law  should  protect  a  party  from  its  enemies 

Independent    ^j^q  may  seek  to  disrupt  or  weaken  it.     The 

Voter.  ^    -^  ,  ;  .  r      t  . 

test  of  party  membership,  or  party  fealty,  is 
the  most  difficult  matter  in  framing  primary  election 
laws.  Experience  shows  that  liberality  in  this  direction 
should  be  encouraged.  It  is  not  necessary,  nor  is  it  gen- 
erally desired  by  party  managers,  to  shut  out  the  inde- 
pendent element  within  a  party.  It  is  not  necessary  to 
apply  hard  party  tests  or  a  cast-iron  pledge  to  support 
the  nominees.  Self-respecting  men  will  not  seek  to  vote 
in  the  Primary  of  a  party  to  which  they  are  not  attached, 
and  the  unscrupulous  will  do  so  in  the  face  of  pledges, 
which  they  will  unhesitatingly  violate.  The  Primary 
should  not  be  a  means  of  pledging  a  man  to  abide  by 
an  unknown  result.  This  would  cultivate  hypocrisy  and 
lying,  and  only  the  unscrupulous  will  take  such  a  pledge. 
With  the  Primaries  of  all  parties  on  the  same  day,  the 
voters  of  each  party  will  be  led  to  give  their  attention  to 
their  own  nominations.  The  primary  system  is  not  to 
destroy  parties,  but  it  implies  that  the  party  is  not  merely 
its  managers,  its  machine,  but  the  whole  body  of  its 
voters.  The  independent  voter  should  recognize  that  the 
registration  of  a  voter's  party  affiliation,  as  the  Kentucky 
law  requires,  is  a  desirable  protection  to  the  party  organi- 
zation.    Very  few  would  object  to  stating  their  party 


Primary  Election  Reform  287 

affiliation,  if  other  information  and  pledges  as  to  the 
voter's  past  and  future  are  not  exacted.  If  this  seems  to 
a  voter  to  violate  his  independence  he  may  either  refrain 
from  voting  at  the  Primary,  or  other  provision  may  be 
made  for  him/ 

4.  The  Australian  secret-ballot  system  of  voting  should 
be  used  in  the  Primary  as  in  the  regular  elec-       „     , ' 

^  =>  4,  Use  of  the 

tlOn  day.  AustraUan 

All  the  ordinary  safeguards  of  the  law  should  ^*"°*' 

be  placed  around  the  primary  election.  All  trickery  and 
personal  and  party  favoritism  in  choosing  election  judges 
and  clerks  should  be  reduced  to  a  minimum.  Ticket- 
peddling  and  electioneering  at  the  polling-place  should  be 
prevented,  and  the  use  of  corruption  money  should  be 
checked. 

Other  minor  features  urged  by  primary  election  advo- 
cates are:  (i)  The  application  of  the  law  should  be  made 
mandatory  and  not  be  left  to  the  option  of  5  Mandatory 
party  committees.  Primary  elections  should  Primaries  and 
be  under  State  control,  not  under  party  con-  Names  of 
trol ;  (2)  The  rotation  of  names  in  the  printed  Candidates, 
ballots.  Any  name  appearing  first  in  all  the  ballots 
would  have  a  manifest  advantage.  The  unknowing  and 
indifferent  voters  are  apt  to  vote  for  the  first  on  the  list. 
In  a  poll  of  fifteen  or  twenty  thousand  votes  the  first 
place  is  probably  worth  one  thousand  votes  to  a  candi- 
date. Fairness  requires  rotation.  The  Minnesota  Law 
provides  for  this.  If  the  first  who  files  his  name  with 
the  party  chairman  is  placed  first  on  the  ballot,  the  way 
is  open  to  favoritism  and  fraud. 

Under  the  primary  system  nominations  will  generally 
be  made  by  a  plurality  vote.  As  the  Primary  will  be  held 
on  registration  day  and  no  one  may  vote  at  the  general 
election  who  does  not  register,  voting  at  the  Primary  will 
be  greatly  encouraged.     Indiscriminate  candidacy  may  be 

» See  p.  288. 


288  Political  Parties  and  Party  Problems 

checked  by  requiring  that  a  candidate's  petition  should 
contain  five  per  cent,  of  the  party  vote  at  the  last  election 
before  his  name  can  go  on  the  ticket  at  the  Primary,  and 
a  reasonable  public  fee  may  be  required  of  all  candidates. 
No  candidate's  petition  should  be  accepted  within  twelve 
days  of  the  Primary,  and  sample  ballots  should  be  posted 
at  least  ten  days  before  the  election.  The  voters  should 
have  ample  time  to  inquire  as  to  the  merits  of 

Practical  .  ...  ^  •  •  ,  ,.,. 

Operation  of  the  Candidates.  On  registration  day,  which  is 
ttie  Primary  primary  election  day,  the  voter  goes  to  his 
voting-place  to  register.  He  is  asked  if  he 
wishes  to  vote  at  the  Primary.  If  he  says  yes,  he  will  be 
asked  in  which  party  Primary  he  wishes  to  participate,  in 
order  that  a  party  ballot  may  be  furnished  him.  If  ex- 
cessive independence  or  reticence  prevents  his  stating  his 
party  affiliation,  and  he  still  desires  to  vote  in  the  Primary, 
he  may  be  given  one  of  each  of  the  tickets  fastened  to- 
gether ;  he  retires  to  the  booth,  marks  the  one  he  desires, 
presumably  the  one  of  his  own  party,  folds  them  together 
and  deposits  them  all  together  in  the  ballot-box.  If  he 
votes  on  more  than  one  ticket,  only  that  one  is  counted 
containing  the  largest  number  of  offices  voted  for.  If 
the  same  number  of  names  is  marked  on  each,  both  are 
thrown  out,  thus  preventing  the  nomination  of  weak  can- 
didates by  voters  of  the  opposite  party.  The  votes  are 
then  canvassed  and  returned  by  a  responsible  official 
board  as  prescribed  by  the  general  election  law.  The 
persons  receiving  the  highest  number  of  votes  of  their 
party  become  the  candidates  of  that  party  for  the  offices 
for  which  they  stood,  and  their  names  go  upon  the  ballot 
at  the  regular  election. 

**This  will  do  away  with  the  delegate  convention.  No  ring, 
coterie,  or  clique  can  prevent  a  candidate  from  securing  the 
nomination,  provided  a  majority  of  his  party  wish  to  vote  for 
him.     It  encourages  the  candidacy  of  able  men,  too  indepen- 


Primary  Election  Reform  289 

dent  to  truckle  to  the  machine.  It  encourages  the  attendance 
of  voters  who  under  the  present  system  think  it  useless  to 
attend  a  caucus  or  a  convention.  As  one  must  register  in 
order  to  vote  at  the  final  election,  if  the  primary  be  held  on 
registration  day  primary  voting  will  be  encouraged. 

' '  The  machine  may  continue  to  recommend,  but  it  can  no 
longer  dictate  nominations.  By  placing  the  responsibility  on 
each  voter  for  the  candidates  put  forward  public  spirit  is 
awakened,  and  public  spirit  is  vital  to  a  democracy."  * 

But  it  has  by  no  means  been  conclusively  shown  that 
the  primary  election  system  should  entirely  displace  the 
convention  system,  provided  the  latter  can  be  properly 
guarded  and  regulated  by  public  law.  It  is  held  that  the 
essential  benefits  of  primary  election  reform  may  be 
obtained  and  the  benefits  of  the  convention  system  re- 
tained at  the  same  time, —  that  the  convention  system 
should  be  reformed  not  abandoned.  It  has  been  the 
abuses  of  the  convention  system  that  have  led  to  the 
general  public  demand  for  primary  election  reform.  If 
the  convention  can  be  made  truly  representa- 
tive and  directly  responsible  to  the  constitu-  the  Primary 
encies  it  is  contended  that  it  will  afford  a  better  Election 
system  for  making  nominations.  Several  ob- 
jections are  urged  to  the  system  of  making  nominations 
by  direct  primaries : 

I.  It  tends  to  promote  rather  than  to  check  electoral 
corruption.  A  primary  election  is  merely  another  elec- 
tion, and  as  elections  are  now  conducted  we  ^  Electoral 
have  enough  of  them.  A  Primary  is  merely  corruption  in 
another  opportunity  for  the  "floater  "  and  the  Primages, 
"grafter."  A  large  and  corrupt  use  of  money  is  encour- 
aged. A  boodle  candidate,  if  he  has  money  and  is  a 
good  organizer  and  a  "good  fellow,"  has  as  good  a  chance 
for  the  nomination  in  a  Primary  as  in  a  convention.     It 

»  See  the  Outlook,  May  i,  1897,  and  May  20,  1899. 
»9 


290  Political  Parties  and  Party  Problems 

merely  requires  more  money  and  more  corruption.  Re- 
cent experience  with  municipal  misrule  in  Minneapolis 
and  the  primary  election  experience  in  Indianapolis  are 
cited  to  sustain  this  view.  The  machine  can  control  the 
Primary  as  well  as  the  convention.  There  is  solid  foun- 
dation for  the  belief  that  election  reform  should  precede 
primary  election  reform. 

2.  It  promotes  plurality  nominations..    A  man  may  be 
nominated  who  represents  but  one  third  or  one  fourth 

2.  Piurauty  of  the  party  voters.  A  plurality  nomination, 
Nominations,  which  the  primary  system  makes  almost  neces- 
sary, may  be  quite  contrary  to  the  party  desire  and  prove 
very  unsatisfactory  to  the  public.  Under  the  South 
Carolina  system,  if  no  candidate  for  Governor  receives  a 
majority  of  the  votes  cast  in  the  party  Primary,  a  second 
Primary  is  held  to  choose  between  the  two  leading  can- 
didates. But  this  process  is  expensive  and  requires 
trouble  and  time  and  the  sustained  attention  of  the 
voters.  And,  besides,  the  candidate  third  on  the  list  at 
the  first  Primary  might  be  preferred  by  a  majority  of  the 
party  as  against  the  two  leading  candidates,  after  all 
minor  candidates  are  out  of  the  way.  In  a  convention  a 
majority  is  required  for  the  nomination  of  a  candidate, 
and  a  series  of  ballotings  may  be  had  resulting  in  the 
average  majority  judgment  of  the  party. 

3.  It  tends  to  a  multiplicity  of  candidates  and  the  con- 
sequent confusion  of  the  voters.     The  ring  influence  can 

3.  MuitipUcity  easily  cause  a  number  of  respectable  candidates 
of  Candidates,  ^q  be  brought  out,  and  thus  divide  the  vote  of 
the  best  citizens,  while  the  ring  or  machine  candidate 
may  easily  obtain  a  larger  number  of  votes  than  any  one 
of  his  opponents.  The  voter  is  confused  by  the  great 
array  of  names  placed  before  him.  If  he  has  to  choose 
forty-five  candidates  out  of  a  list  of  two  hundred  names 
the  voter  cannot  choose  intelligently. 

4.  The  primary  system  tends  to  weaken  and  destroy 


Primary  Election  Reform  291 

the  party.  It  causes  jealousies  and  divisions  within  the 
party  and  prevents  efficient  party  organization.  It  offers 
no  security  for  a  geographical  distribution  of  the  , 

candidates  which  is  calculated  to   strengthen  Party 

a  party  throughout  a  State.  In  districts  strength, 
where  the  party  nomination  is  equivalent  to  an  election, 
as  in  the  Southern  States  and  in  some  local  districts  in 
all  the  States,  the  primary  system  is  called  for  by  the 
people ;  in  such  places  it  may  be  wisely  used  and  may  not 
injure  the  party.  Even  there,  however,  only  the  majority 
party  can  afford  to  use  it.  In  these  cases  the  Primary  is 
the  real  election.  But  where  there  are  close  and  regular 
party  contests  the  Primary,  it  is  claimed,  tends  to  weaken 
and  disrupt  the  party  that  applies  it. 

It  might  be  said,  in  reply  to  this,  that  the  primary  sys- 
tem would  bring  influences  to  the  support  of  parties  that 
would  more  than  counteract  its  weakening  effects.  It 
would  so  reform  parties  and  bring  them  to  the  perform- 
ance of  their  proper  functions  that  many  men  who  are 
now  detached  from  parties,  being  disgusted  with  party 
management,  would  come  into  closer  party  relations  and 
activities.  Extreme  independents,  who  wish  that  still 
greater  independence  of  party  control  should  be  culti- 
vated, criticise  the  movement  for  primary  election  re- 
form because,  as  it  appears  to  the  critics,  to  invest  primary 
meetings  with  a  legal  character  and  to  legalize  the  caucus 
would  tend  to  abridge  the  freedom  and  independence  of 
those  who  take  part  in  them.  It  would  bind  men  to  sup- 
port the  party.  Such  a  system  of  nominations  would, 
no  doubt,  give  less  occasion  or  apology  for  independence 
and  would,  without  destroying  reasonable  independence, 
bring  to  the  party  councils  and  support  a  large  Practical 
number  of  citizens  who  now  act  in  more  or  less       Operation 

01  tne 

independent  isolation.  Reformed 

Those  who  propose  to  reform  and  not  aban-     Convention. 

don  the  delegate  convention  propose,  as  an  illustration, 


292  Political  Parties  and  Party  Problems 

that  after  the  precinct  delegates  are  elected  in  fair,  well- 
guarded  Primaries,  each  township  or  county  delegation 
to  the  convention  should  elect  a  chairman  or  foreman, 
and  that  this  foreman,  acting  for  the  delegation, 

*  *  should  hand  in  to  the  convention  all  the  nominations  desired 
by  a  plurality  in  his  delegation  and  the  nominations  thus  filed 
by  the  different  delegations  the  convention  should  post  on  a 
large  bulletin  board ;  and  the  convention  should  vote  on  such 
names,  and  no  others,  by  a  secret  Australian  ballot,  under  the 
care  of  officials  named  by  public  election  commissioners.  * '  ^ 

This  proposes  to  bring  the  convention  under  fair  public 
control  and  regulation.  The  advocates  of  the  reformed 
convention  system  hold  that  the  evils  of  democracy  are 
not  to  be  cured  by  more  democracy ;  that  it  is  not  the  ap- 
plication of  pure,  unrestricted  democracy  that  we  should 
strive  for,  but  for  the  principles  of  the  republic, — govern- 
ment by  the  people  through  their  representatives ;  that 
any  other  system  of  party  government  is  impracticable 
among  millions  of  people  over  an  extended  area.  The 
party  should  be  a  republican  institution,  and  its  nomina- 
tions and  control  should  be  conducted  under  republican 
forms.  This  points  to  the  representative  convention  as 
the  governing  body  in  the  party.  It  is  not  wise  or  neces- 
sary to  cheapen  the  franchise  and  extend  the  influence  of 
the  ignorant  and  irresponsible  voter,  as  the  primary  sys- 
tem does.  What  we  should  do,  say  the  advocates  of  the 
_.  convention,  is  to  safeguard  the  delegate  system. 

Indirect  Con-  Instead  of  asking  the  voter  to  vote  for  forty- 
Demorrac*  vs  ^^^  Candidates  out  of  a  list  of  132  names,  let 
Representative  him  votc  for  One  delegate,  and  have  an  equal 
ovemment.  ^.j^^j^^.^  with  the  rcst  of  the  party  voters  in  his 
precinct  in  choosing  this  delegate.     Not  one  man  in  fifty 

*  See  an  article  by  Mr.  Frederick  Rush  in  the  Partisan  (Indianapolis) 
for  July,  1902.  Mr.  Rush  is  the  author  of  the  Illinois  Primary  Election 
Law,  and  is  the  attorney  for  the  Civic  Federation  of  Chicago.  The  Illinois 
law  is  probably  the  best  yet  attained. 


Primary  Election  Reform  293 

can  know  the  qualifications  of  the  candidates,  and  prob- 
ably ninety  out  of  a  hundred  vote  at  random.  It  is  no 
more  logical  to  abolish  the  delegate  party  convention  be- 
cause it  has  been  abused  by  designing  politicians  than  it 
would  be  to  abolish  legislatures  and  congresses  for  the 
same  reason.  The  delegate  convention  is  controlled  by 
designing  schemers  merely  because  of  the  indifference  of 
the  general  body  of  the  voters,  and  because  of  the  igno- 
rance and  political  corruption  prevailing  among  so  many 
party  voters,  and  because  the  body  of  the  voters  feel  that 
they  have  not  a  fair  chance  in  the  caucus.  The  remedy 
is  to  arouse  public  opinion  and  to  bring  the  constitution 
of  the  convention — that  is,  the  men  who  compose  it  and 
the  rules  under  which  it  is  to  work — under  proper  public 
control.  On  this  fundamental  point  the  advocate  of  the 
reformed  convention  and  of  primary  nominations  are  in 
agreement.  Both  propose  to  take  the  preliminary  party 
meetings — the  self-constituted  caucuses  that  now  name 
the  delegates  and  dictate  nominations — out  of  the  hands 
of  private  and  unregulated  party  management  and  put 
them  into  the  hands  of  public  and  regulated  State  man- 
agement. The  advocates  of  the  reformed  convention 
accept  this  principle,  but  they  hold  that  it  can  be  applied 
and  the  convention  retained.  One  of  these  advocates  thus 
sums  up  the  principal  points  in  a  good  convention  law : 

1.  A  practically  permanent  and  autonomous  precinct, 
the  boundaries  of  which  are  not  susceptible  of 
alterations  easily  or  frequently.  Provisions  in 

2.  One  delegate  to  a  precinct.  *  ^°o<*  ^°^' 

-  ,.  .         .  .         ,  .  -         vention  Law. 

3.  All  nommations  m  the  convention  to  be 

by  printed  ballot,  each  ballot  bearing  the  name  of  the 
delegate  voting  it,  and  to  be  given  official  record.  This 
would  make  the  delegate  responsible  to  his  constituents 
and  to  the  public. 

4.  Penalties  for  bribery,  corruption  and  unfair  manipu- 
lation.    The  tricks  of  the  ring  must  be  guarded  against. 


294  Political  Parties  and  Party  Problems 

"All  that  is  necessary  is  to  elect  one  good  delegate  in  each 
precinct,  instead  of  voting  for  forty-five  candidates.  If  you 
cannot  elect  one  good  man,  an  honest  and  public-spirited  man, 
for  your  delegate,  you  are  not  capable  of  nominating  a  host  of 
candidates  for  your  party. 

*  *  There  would  be  no  ring  if  you  chose  the  right  kind  of 
men  for  precinct  committeemen.  And  there  will  always  be 
more  or  less  of  ring  rule  until  you  take  away  from  the  profes- 
sional politicians  the  control  of  the  party  organization.  Party 
organizations  are  necessary  under  popular  government,  and 
the  delegate  convention  is  the  best  system  for  making  party 
nominations,  if  it  is  properly  conducted."  ^ 

But  it  should  alv^ays  be  remembered  that  no  organiza- 
tion nor  machinery  nor  party  system  can  save  the  state ; 
that  the  merits  of  party  government  will  always  depend 
upon  the  character  of  men  rather  than  upon  the  frame- 
work or  machinery  of  institutions.  Until  we  have  grapes 
from  thistles  we  may  not  expect  good  government  from  bad 
men.  Good  citizenship  is  the  first  and  constant  necessity. 
REFERENCES  ON  PRIMARY  ELECTION  REFORM 

1.  Dallinger,  Harvard  Historical  Publications. 

2.  Remsen,  Daniels.,  Primary  Elections. 

3.  National  Conference  on  Primary  Election  Reform  in  i8g8.     (W,  C. 

Hollister  &  Bro.  of  Chicago),  Ralph  M.  Easley,  Secretary  of  the 
Conference,  now  Secretary  of  the  National  Civic  Federation. 

4.  W.  J.  Branson,  in  Annals  of  the  American  Academy,  1899. 

5.  Edward  Insley,  Arena,  June,  1897. 

6.  Field,  D.D.,  Forujn,  vol.  xiv.  (1892). 

7.  F.  D.  Pavey,  Forum,  vol.  xxv.  (1898). 

8.  Review  of  Reviews,  1897,  vol.  xvi.,    pp.  322-324  ;   vol.   xvii.,  1898, 

pp.  583-589. 

9.  Indianapolis  News,  February  14,   1902,  April  9,  1902,  articles  on  the 

Indiana  (Joss)  Law  by  Mr.  Edward  Insley. 

10.  The  Chicago  Record,  January  26,   1901,  by  Mr.  OscAR  F.  G.  DAY,  on 

the  Minnesota  Law. 

11.  See  references  to  the  articles  in  the  Partisan  and  in  the  Outlook. 

12.  Consult  Poole's  Index. 

*  Mr.  Edward  Insley  in  the  Partisan,  July,  1902  (Indianapolis).  The 
student  should  consult  the  files  of  the  Partisan  for  the  discussion  of 
problems  in  party  politics. 


CHAPTER   XXI 

POLITICAL  INDEPENDENCE  AND   PARTY  LOYALTY 

A  PROBLEM  that  constantly  confronts  the  intelligent 
voter  is  that  of  the  conflict  between  his  personal 
independence  and  his  party  obligation.      To 

,  .      ,         ..tit         1 .  The  Citizen's 

what  extent  is  the  citizen  bound  to  subordinate         Attitude 
himself  in  order  to  co-operate  with  a  party?  toward 

There  are  a  number  of  attitudes  that  a  voter 
may  assume  toward  parties  involving  varying  degrees  of 
independence.' 

I.  He  may  abstain  entirely  from  all  political  life  and 
activity.  He  may  look  on  the  Constitution  and  the 
Government  as  godless  and  forsaken  and  re-  ^  Abstention 
fuse  to  vote  or  co-operate  with  any  party,  or  in  from  Pouticai 
any  way  support  the  political  institutions  or 
organizations  of  the  country.  Garrison  and  his  Abolition 
coadjutors  did  this.  They  would  not  vote,  nor  hold 
office,  nor  seek  to  put  one  of  their  advocates  in  office, 
and,  of  course,  they  would  attach  themselves  to  no  po- 
litical party.  They  lived  and  spoke  entirely  on  a  moral 
plane.  One  may  pursue  this  course  also  from  utter  in- 
difference to  public  affairs  or  from  a  feeling  that  politics 
are  "too  dirty  and  corrupt  "  to  give  hope  for  purification 
and  redemption.  This  attitude  is  that  of  the  extremist 
in  moral  reform,  or   in  selfishness,    or  of   the   political 

*  See  an  article  by  Dr.  Washington  Gladden,  on  "  The  Uses  and  Abuses 
of  Party,"  the  Century  Magazine,  vol.  vi. 

295 


296  Political  Parties  and  Party  Problems 

pessimist  who  gives  over  to  faithless  despair.  There  are 
not  many  of  this  class. 

2.  The  voter  may  consent  to  vote  and  to  influence  vot- 
ing, but  avow  no  party  allegiance  whatever.  These  are  the 
pure  independents  who  acknowledge  no  party  obligations 
or  ties  of  affection.  They  assume  to  act  as  judicial  umpires 
between  the  parties,  voting  as  readily  with  one  party  as 

Denial  of  "^^^^  another,  as  they  think  the  interests  of  the 
Party  AUe-  country  demand.  They  may  be  represented  as 
glance.  standing  in  the  middle  of  the  balancing  board, 

giving  the  tilt  first  to  one  side,  then  to  the  other,  but  they 
are  not  a  part  of  the  game.  This  generally  reduces  one's 
participation  to  a  choice  between  two  courses  prearranged 
by  others,  though  the  hope  of  receiving  the  weight  of 
this  element  may  influence  the  pre-arrangement.  This 
class  of  voters  is  also  relatively  small. 

3.  On  the  other  hand,  the  voter  may  be  a  blind  or  un- 
scrupulous adherent  of  a  party,  supporting  his  party  in 

every  emergency  no  matter  whom  it  nomi- 
ing  Party  natcs  or  what  policy  it  proposes.  These  are 
Spirit  and        t^g  unscrupulous  manas^crs,  or  the  unthinking: 

Attachment.  ^.,         ■,.-,.  1  1 

party  pawns  with  which  the  managers  play  the 
game.  It  has  been  estimated  that  fully  eighty-five  or 
ninety  voters  out  of  a  hundred  of  the  voting  mass  of  a 
party  may  be  absolutely  relied  upon  by  the  party  man- 
agers to  follow  the  course  marked  out  for  them  by  the 
party  convention  or  organization.  Such  men  are  gov- 
erned in  their  voting  by  prejudices,  tradition,  and  habit, 
not  by  any  real  opinion.*     That  there  are  party  managers 

*  It  is  related  that  in  the  early  part  of  1896  one  of  the  Democratic  Federal 
office-holders  in  one  of  the  Western  States  made  a  labored  speech  in  favor 
of  maintaining  the  gold  standard,  that  the  party  might  be  saved  "from 
the  silver  heresy,"  and  the  country  "from  repudiation  and  national  dis- 
honor." After  the  National  Convention  of  his  party  declared  for  the  free 
and  unlimited  coinage  of  silver  he  again  came  to  speak  in  the  same  town  to 
advocate  the  cause  of  his  party  in  the  campaign.  In  answer  to  expressions 
of  surprise  that  he   proposed,   under  the  circumstances,  to  speak  in  his 


Political  Independence — Party  Loyalty  297 

and  place-seekers  and  ignorant  voters  who  with  cunning 
purpose  or  Bourbon  stupidity  are  always  ready  to  follow 
the  party,  regardless  of  party  consistency  or  party  princi- 
ples, is  not  a  matter  of  surprise.  It  is  more  surprising 
and  more  to  be  deplored  that  so  large  a  proportion  of 
honest  men  among  the  party  voters  consent  to  become 
the  dupes  of  the  unscrupulous,  and  by  following  their 
traditions  and  prejudices  rather  than  their  intelligence 
and  conscience,  become  the  principal  means  by  which 
knaves  and  rascals  acquire  political  power  for  their  own 
ends.  If  we  could  imagine  the  whole  body  of  our  citizen- 
ship assuming  this  attitude  toward  party  and  thus  resign- 
ing the  right,  or  habit,  of  independent  thinking,  or 
independent  action,  we  should  have  to  reconcile  our- 
selves to  the  inevitable  decay  of  popular  government  by 
party.  Party  would  degenerate  into  the  ring,  the  clique, 
the  faction,  and  party  rule  would  be  but  the  despotism 
of  the  boss. 

4.  But  there  is  a  large  and  growing  element  in  our 
citizenship  that  does  not  assume  any  of  these  attitudes 

party's  defence,  he  said  he  had  come  '*  to  answer  the  speech  he  had  made  a 
few  months  before."  In  the  same  year  in  Pennsylvania  a  Democratic 
congressional  convention  that  had  been  called  to  meet  before  the  National 
Convention  had  declared  itself  on  the  controverted  issues,  declared  un- 
equivocally for  the  gold  standard,  and  denounced  the  "  silver  heresy  "  :  it 
nominated  a  candidate  who  loyally  accepted  the  platform  declaration. 
After  the  National  Convention  of  the  party  had  declared  for  free  silver 
coinage,  the  congressional  convention  was  again  called  together,  rescinded 
its  former  declaration,  and  nominated  the  same  candidate,  who  conveniently 
and  loyally  changed  his  principles  to  accommodate  himself  to  the  new 
situation.  Similar,  if  not  such  glaring,  inconsistencies  came  to  light  within 
the  Republican  ranks  in  that  eventful  political  year.  It  would  seem  to 
ordinary  morality  and  intelligence  that  such  an  exhibition  of  party  sub- 
serviency is  an  absurdity,  or  a  species  of  rascality.  Of  course,  a  man  may 
change  his  mind,  but  such  leaders  (?)  would  hardly  be  looked  to  as  safe 
guides.  These  cases  illustrate  how  little  local  political  managers  are 
governed  by  opinion  (that  is,  their  own  opinion)  and  how  little  they  are 
leaders  of  political  thought.  They  are  mere  creatures  of  forces  put  into 
operation  by  men  of  independent  thought  and  action. 


298  Political  Parties  and  Party  .Problems 

toward  party.  These  believe  in  parties  as  a  means  of 
effecting  political  action.  They  identify  themselves  with 
a  party  and  take  part  in  party  management, 
tionai  Party  attend  primaries  and  caucuses,  help  to  con- 
^^*"*'  duct    conventions    and    make    platforms   and 

nominations.  As  party  men  they  recognize  the  useful- 
ness of  parties,  and  believing  in  their  own  principles  they 
are  willing  to  adopt  the  party  means  of  reducing  these 
principles  to  practice ;  but  with  the  spirit  of  true  inde- 
pendence they  hold  their  political  principles  above  party 
success  or  party  interests,  and  they  will  follow  their  con- 
victions and  their  sense  of  the  public  welfare  against  the 
temporary  decisions  of  the  party  organization. 

Voters  of  this  kind  have  a  proper  conception  of,  and 

recognize  the  true  office  of  party.     The  party  managers 

^  and  hide-bound  partisans  are  disposed  to  look 

Character  and  ^  ^ 

Function  of  upon  a  party  as  a  disciplined  army,  to  be  di- 
Party.  rcctcd  by  a  commander-in-chief  and  his  staff, 

while  the  voters,  like  machines  or  unthinking  soldiers,  are 
to  move  at  the  word  of  command.  This,  of  course,  is 
a  perversion  of  the  idea  of  party.  A  party  is  to  repre- 
sent the  aggregate  or  composite  opinion  of  its  members. 
It  exists  for  the  purposes  of  its  voters,  not  for  the  pur- 
poses of  its  managers.  The  party  is  not  an  end  in  itself; 
it  has  no  claims  apart  from  the  claims  of  the  cause  that 
it  represents.  The  party  is  a  means  to  secure  the  com- 
mon ends  that  its  voters  have  in  view.  It  is  not  merely 
an  organization  for  the  purpose  of  securing  majorities, 
carrying  elections,  and  getting  the  offices  for  the  party 
workers.  It  may  do  these  things  as  a  means  for  working 
out  the  end  for  which  it  exists ;  but  the  party's  constant 
and  fundamental  purpose  is  to  stand  for  principles  and  to 
commit  itself  to  policies  in  harmony  with  these  principles. 
A  party  is  not  a  mere  club,  with  tests  of  membership 
apart  from,  or  above,  its  principles.  It  cannot  exact 
pledges  to  obey  orders  or  to  vote  for  all  nominees  that 


Political  Independence — Party  Loyalty  299 

an  obedient  party  machine  may  offer.  No  voter  should 
think  of  a  party  apart  from,  or  above,  its  principles,  and  a 
party  without  principles,  or  the  courage  of  its  principles, 
is  a  paradox,  and  it  can  claim  no  allegiance  from  any 
citizen. 

Burke's  classic  definition  of  party  gives  us  as  definite 
and  at  the  same  time  as  flexible  an  idea  of  the  true  party 
as  we  can  anywhere  find : 

*  A  party  is  a  body  of  men  united  for  promoting  by  their 
joint  endeavors  the  national  interest  upon  some  principle  on 
which  they  are  all  agreed." 

With  this  conception  of  party,  true  independence  can 
be  made  consistent  with  true  party  allegiance.  It  is 
urged  in  behalf  of  party  loyalty  that  parties  Reasonable 
are  necessaiy   to    popular   government;    that  independence 

-  .  .  ,  .         .  is  Consistent 

they  are  expensive  to  organize  and  maintain,  with  Party 
and  that  they  should  not  be  weakened  and  Allegiance, 
disorganized  for  transient  and  trivial  reasons;  that  the 
**  united  wisdom  "  of  the  party  is  a  safer  guide  than  the 
individual  judgment  of  any  man,  since  "everybody  knows 
more  than  anybody";  that,  though  the  party  may  be 
temporarily  wrong,  the  loyal  party  man  should  think  of 
it  as  the  party  of  his  fathers  that  has  rendered  the  country 
great  services  in  the  past,  and  the  plea  is  made  that  its 
strength  should  be  conserved  for  the  sake  of  greater  ser- 
vices in  the  future;  that  if  men  desert  the  party  they 
weaken  their  influence  for  good  government  by  pieas  for 
weakening,  or  destroying,  their  influence  with  ^^^  Loyalty, 
the  party,  thereby  injuring  their  future  usefulness;  that 
men  should  not  expect  to  keep  **  running  in  and  out  of  a 
party  "  ;  that  they  should  belong  to  a  party  completely, 
with  loyalty  and  devotion,  and  not  merely  with  spas- 
modic loyalty,  giving  no  certainty  of  reliance  or  support ; 
that  if  men  bolt  to  a  minor  party  it  is  but  to  "vote  in  the 


300  Political  Parties  and  Party  Problems 

air,"  or  "to  throw  away  your  vote,"  or  to  give  a  half- 
vote  to  the  enemy ;  and  that  to  vote  with  the  opposite 
party  is,  of  course,  **to  turn  the  government  over  to  its 
enemies."  All  that  is  bad  in  one  party  is  urged  by  the 
advocates  of  the  other  as  reasons  against  independent 
voting. 

These  are  the  usual  party  pleas,  and  many  of  them 
have  weight.  The  natural  party  disposition  of  most  men 
is  to  give  them  full  force  and  effect.  But  sensible  party 
men  who  make  these  pleas  do  not  themselves  surrender 
the  "divine  right  to  bolt."  They  know  the  need  of  a 
reasonable  measure  of  personal  independence,  and  they 
recognize  that  throughout  our  party  history  such  political 
independence  has  been  a  constant  and  powerful  influence 
History  of  i"  determining  the  course  of  political  events. 
Party  Leader-  The  history  of  American  parties  is  full  of  illus- 
the  Spirit  of  trations:  Salmon  P.  Chase,  Charles  Sumner, 
Independence.  Qcorge  F.  Hoar,  Gcorge  A.  Boutwell,  Henry 
Wilson,  and  others  who  as  young  men  left  their  party  for 
their  cause  in  1848;  Lincoln,  Seward,  Trumbull,  Colfax, 
and  all  who  were  in  at  the  making  of  the  Republican 
party  in  1854  and  1856,  and  who,  for  their  cause,  were 
ready  to  see  their  old  parties  defeated  and  shattered; 
Horace  Greeley,  Charles  Francis  Adams,  Senator  Depew, 
Whitelaw  Reid,  Murat  Halstead,  who,  later  in  the  history 
of  the  Republican  party,  sought  to  bring  it  to  defeat 
in  1872;  Martin  Van  Buren,  Samuel  J.  Tilden,  David 
Dudley  Field,  William  CuUen  Bryant,  among  Democrats 
in  1848;  Breckinridge  in  i860;  Cleveland  and  Hill  and 
Palmer  and  others  in  1896, — all  these  renowned  leaders 
and  party  managers  among  both  the  great  parties  have  at 
times  asserted  their  independence  of  party  authority  and 
have  sought  to  compass  their  party's  defeat.  If  party 
men  by  withstanding  party  authority  are  likely  to  lose  in- 
fluence with  their  party  or  weight  in  its  councils  (which 
is  not  always  the  case),  it  by  no  means  follows  that  they 


Political  Independence — Party  Loyalty  301 

weaken  their  influence  over  the  course  of  events,  or  re- 
ceive a  more  unfavorable  judgment  from  history. 

No  absolute  rule  for  determining  one's  relation  to 
party  can  be  laid  down.  It  is  a  part  of  the  universal  con- 
flict between  freedom  and  authority,  between  individu- 
alism and  social  action.  What  one  will  do  in  such  a 
matter  will  depend  upon  his  circumstances;  upon  the 
merits  of  the  situation ;  upon  personal  disposition ;  upon 
one's  estimate  of  the  value  of  the  party ;  upon  the  in- 
tensity of  one's  interest,  conviction,  and  purpose  in  ref- 
erence to  the  public  policies  at  issue. 

It  is  obvious  that  men  sometimes  act  independent  of 
parties  from  good  motives,  sometimes  from  bad  motives ; 
sometimes  from  public  interests,  sometimes  xheRtiiefor 
from  personal  and  selfish  interests ;  sometimes  ^^^^  ^^■^ 
for  a  noble  cause,  sometimes  for  an  ignoble  Personal  in- 
cause.  Recognizing  party  as  a  necessary  or  dependence, 
beneficial  agency  in  popular  government,  if  it  be  asked 
whether  bolting  is  justifiable y  it  must  be  answered  that  it 
is  not  if  the  bolting  is  prompted  by  reasons  that  are 
trivial,  petty,  spiteful,  selfish,  ignoble;  but  that  it  is 
justifiable  if  the  reasons  given  are  good  and  sufficient. 
Who  is  to  judge  the  reasons  that  are  given?  Manifestly 
the  only  reply  is  that  every  man  must  answer  for  himself 
to  his  own  individual  conscience  and  judgment.  There  is 
no  other  tribunal  to  which  he  can  appeal.  He  may  seek 
guidance  and  wisdom  from  experience,  history,  revela- 
tion, from  whatever  source  he  ivill,  but  if  he  is  an  intelli- 
gent, self-directing  agent  his  action  must  be  his  own,  and 
he  alone  is  responsible.  And  he  must  stand  or  fall  before 
public  sentiment  and  posterity — the  Court  Supreme  to 
which  he  must  be  willing  to  submit  his  case — by  the  reasons 
that  he  gives.  According  to  the  judgment  wherewith  he 
judges  shall  he  be  judged. 

It  is  certainly  only  reasonable  independence  for  the  voter 
to  insist  that  party  interest  shall  always  be  subordinated 


302  Political  Parties  and  Party  Problems 

to  the  country's  interest;  that  one  should  never  unre- 
servedly pledge  himself  to  an  unknown  result  of  party 
action;  that  the  party's  principles  in  the  opinion  of  the 
voter  be  designed  to  promote  the  public  welfare,  and 
that  the  party  should  be  faithful  to  its  principles;  and 
that  when  the  party  abandons  its  principles  and  fails  to 
present  faithful  and  fit  candidates  for  offices,  it  is  not  only 
the  privilege  but  it  is  the  duty  of  all  good  citizens  to 
withhold  their  votes. 

**  Let  it  be  known  that  you  are  interested  in  the  success  of 
the  party.  Asking  nothing  for  yourself  take  a  hand  in  shaping 
the  party  policy  and  making  nominations,  being  guided  by 
public  interests  rather  than  personal  ones.  If  against  your 
protests  they  make  bad  nominations,  bolt  them  and  return  to  the 
charge.  Keep  standing  up  for  men  and  things  that  are  honest 
and  of  good  report. ' '  ^ 

"  Party  is  always  to  be  subordinated  to  patriotism.  Perfect 
party  discipline  is  the  most  dangerous  weapon  of  party  spirit, 
for  it  is  the  abdication  of  individual  judgment.  It  is  for  you 
to  help  break  this  withering  spell.  It  is  for  you  to  assert  the 
independence  and  the  dignity  of  the  individual  citizen,  and  to 
prove  that  the  party  was  made  for  the  voter  and  not  the  voter 
for  the  party.  When  you  are  angrily  told  that  if  you  erect 
your  personal  whim  against  the  regular  party  behest  you  make 
representative  government  impossible  by  refusing  to  accept  its 
conditions,  hold  fast  by  your  conscience  and  let  the  party  go. "  ' 

The  services  of  party  to  liberty  and  popular  govern- 
ment should  be  recognized.'  But  when  national  interests 
are  sacrificed  or  subordinated  to  personal  interests  parties 
degenerate  into  factions.  As  long  as  the  party  is  bound 
together  by  a  common  attachment  to  principles  and  a 
supreme  regard  for  the  national  welfare  its  existence  is 

*  Washington  Gladden,  Century  Magazine,  vol.  vi. 
VjCieorge  William  Curtis,  Orations. 
I^See  May's  Constitutional  History  of  England,  vol.  ii.,  chap.  i. 


Political  Independence — Party  Loyalty  303 

justified.  When  it  becomes  a  machine  for  the  dispensa- 
tion of  patronage  it  is  a  menace  to  the  State.* 

Critics  of  democracy  have  imputed  its  failures  and 
blunders  and  misgovernment  in  America,  as  seen  espe- 
cially in  large  cities,  to  the  ignorant  and  the^^^^.^.^^^^ 
poor  and  to  the  evils  of  an  unrestricted  suffrage,  and  corrup- 
The  indictment  is  misplaced.     Ignorance  and  **°°' 

poverty  are  but  the  prey,  not  the  source,  of  political  cor- 
ruption. Its  source  is  found  farther  up,  in  the  com- 
mercialism of  the  rich  and  powerful  classes,  among  the 
''respectable"  and  the  "well-to-do,"  who  look  upon 
polities  and  the  laws  only  as  a  means  of  private  gain.=* 
Usually  in  the  rank  and  file  of  the  common  people  we 
find  the  intelligence  and  patriotism  that  are  the  saving 
forces  of  the  state.  They  will  not  fail  to  deliver  their 
parties  and  their  party  government  from  the  control  of 
the  selfish  and  the  venal.  To  this  end  the  great  need  in 
American  politics  to-day  is  that  young  men  of  high  ideals 
and  resolute  purposes  for  good  government  should  devote 
themselves  to  political  activity,  standing  up  stoutly  and 
constantly  for  honest  government,  high  ideals  in  politics, 
and  that  active  participation  in  political  life  by  which  bet- 
ter government  is  brought  to  pass.  This  is  a  path  to 
honor  and  to  the  highest  service,  and  it  may  be  a  path 
to  national  fame.  For  our  political  history  shows  that 
it  is  the  men  who  have  these  high  standards  of  integrity 
and  ideals  of  public  service  whom  the  vicissitudes  of  poli- 
ties and  party  struggles  bring  into  leadership  and  into 
the  highest  honor  and  office  in  the  gift  of  the  people. 

REFERENCES  ON  PARTIES  AND  INDEPENDENCE 

1.  "  What  is  a  Party  ?  "  Political  Science  Quarterly,  vol.  ii, 

2.  "  Despotism  of  Party,"  Atlantic  Monthly,  vol.  liv. 

'  Bolingbroke  on  Parties. 

^See  "Commercialism  and  Corruption,"  Gustavus  Myers,  New  York 
Independent,  January  17,  1901, 


304  Political  Parties  and  Party  Problems 

3.  "  Political  Parties  and  Independents,"  D.  B.  Eaton,  North  American 

Review,  vol.  cxliv. 

4.  "  Ethics  of  Party  Loyalty,"  Forum,  vol.  xx. 

5.  "  The  Spirit  of  Party,"  Nineteenth  Century,  vol.  xi.,  and  Nation,  vol. 

ii.,  p.  680. 

6.  "  Regularity  and  Independence,"  Century,  May,  1892,  and  October, 

1890. 

7.  "The  Independent  in  Politics,"  James  Russell  Lowell,  Works, 

8.  "  The  Politician  and  the  Pharisee,"  J.  S.  Clarkson,  North  American 

Review,  vol.  clii. ,  a  plea  for  party  practice  and  obligations. 

9.  See  Poole's  Index  for  other  references. 


^ 


INDEX 


Abbott,  Lyman,  Rights  of  Man, 
233 

Abbott,  Willis  J.,  on  conduct  of 
campaign,  209  sq. 

"Abhorrers,"  6 

Ableman  vs.  Booth,  23 

Abolitionists,  and  Liberty  Party 
50  sqq.;  leaders  of,  51;  so- 
cieties of,  5 1 ;  constitutional 
attitude  of,  52;  effect  of  agi- 
tation of,  52;  purposes  of,  53; 
opposition  to,  54;  growth  of, 
55;  divisions  of,  55,  56;  in  old 
parties,  59;  81;  92;  party 
nomination  of ,  139;   143 

Adams,  C.  F.,  64,  67,  73,  140, 
300 

Adams,  Henry,  History  of  the 
United  States,  20,  26,  29 

Adams,  John,  on  party  division 
in  America,  4;  Works,  8;  28, 
31,  166,  168 

Adams,  John  Quincy,  33,  34,  35. 
45,  73,  263 

Addams,  Jane,  on  the  ward 
Boss,  247  sq. 

"  Adullamites,"  134 

African  Slave  Trade,  52 

Alien  and  Sedition  Acts,  18  sq.; 
28 

American  Anti-Slavery  Society, 
51,  56 

American  Party,  44 

"American  System,"  the,  41  sq. 

Anarchy,  contrasted  with  social- 
ism, 145;  239 

Anti-Federalist  Party,  11;  con- 
stituency of ,  12;  13 


Anti-Masons,  41  s^.,  136  sqq.,i'j^ 
Anti- Nebraska  men,  83,  139 
Anti-Slavery  societies,  principles 

of,  51.  52 

Assessments,  and  Spoils  System, 
260,  266;  and  parties,  266 
sqq.;  evils  of,  269  sqq.;  reme- 
dies for,  273;  conditions  un- 
der, 272;    Bryce  on,  270  sqq. 

"Assistance  Clause  "  in  suffrage 
laws,  240 

Assumption  of  State  debts,  14 

Australian  System  of  voting,  240 


B 


Bank,  question  of,  33,  47 

Barker,  Wharton,  146 

"Barnburners/'  69  sq.;  New 
York  con'flPftlon  of,  71;  ori- 
gin of ,  7 1 ;   181 

Becker,  Carl,  on  Unit  Rule,  183 
sqq.,  215 

Benton,  Thomas  H.,  171,  263 

Biddle,  Nicholas,  45 

"Bill  of  Rights,"  5,  12 

Bimetallic  League,  117,  125 

Bimetallism,  118 

Birney,  J.  G.,  56,  58,  61,  62,  143 

Black,  James,  142 

"Black  Republicans,"  84 

Blackstone  on  manhood  suf- 
frage, 236 

Blaine,  James  G.,  Republican 
leader,  95 ;  opposition  to,  141 ; 
defeat  of,  142;   194 

Bland- Allison  Act,  120  sq. 

"Blue- Light"  Federalists,  136 

Bonded  Debt,  funding  of,  1866, 
loi;  payment  of ,  104 


305 


3o6 


Index 


Boss,  political,  242  sqq.;  leader- 
ship of,  245;  methods  of,  246 
sq.;  character  of,  247;  how  he 
rules  the  city  ward,  247  sq.; 
responsibility  for,  249;  reme- 
dies for,  250  sq. 

Bradford,  The  Lesson  of  Popular 
Government,  3 

Breckinridge,  J.  C,  leader  of 
Southern  Democrats,  90  sq., 
300 

Brooks,  Sydney,  on  campaign  of 
1896,  213 

Bryan,  W.  J.,  nomination  of,  98; 
radical  democracy  of,  99;  125; 
12'j  sqq.;   131;   20^  sq.;  210 

Bryant,  William  Cull  en,  69,  300 

Bryce,  James,  on  American  par- 
ties, 3;  on  constituencies  of 
early  parties,  25  sq.;  on  hori- 
zontal division  of  parties,  99 ; 
on  Congressional  caucus,  167; 
on  National  Nominating  con- 
ventions, 176;  on  habits  of 
patriotism,  227,  228;  on 
party  assessments,  270  sqq. 

Buchanan,  James,  86  sq. 

Burgess,  J.  W.,  on  significance  of 
Whig  position,  1832,  39,  40; 
on  Free-Soilers,  72 

Burke,  Edmund,  225 

Butler,  Benj.  F.,  opposes  cur- 
rency contraction,  102  sqq., 
106,  109 


Calhoun,  John  C,  33,  41,  45;  on 
Abolitionists,  61;  64 

California,  admission  of,  78 

Cameron,  Senator,  187  sq. 

Campaign,  Presidential,  conduct 
of,  197  sqq.;  literature  of ,  197, 
208;  network  of  committees 
for,  197  sq.;  candidate  in, 
204;  education  of,  205,  208; 
"Text- Book,"  208;  party 
press  in,  209;  speaking  in,  210; 
party  instructions  in,  211  sq.; 
expenses  of ,  2 1 2 ;  of  1896,  213; 
references  on,  214,  215 

Carey,  Samuel  F.,  106 

"Cavaliers,"  5 

Chambers,  B.  J.,  109 

Charles  I.,  of  England,  5 


Charles  II.,  of  England,  6 

Chase,  Salmon  P.,  57,  58,  83,  85, 
243,  300 

Chatham,  Earl,  on  American 
Whigs,  4,  5 

Choate,  Rufus,  64,  73 

Civil  Service  Reform,  139,  142, 
263;  references  on,  264,  273 

Clay,  Henry,  33,  34,  35,  45,  61, 
62 ;  and  slavery  extension,  63 ; 
64,  66,  138,  143,  243 

Cleveland,  Grover,  Democratic 
schism  under,  97;  109;  124; 
repudiation  of,  125;  gold 
standard  policy  of,  126;  129; 
131;    142,  184,  185,  204,  300 

Clinton,  De  Witt,  7,3,  169 

Clintonians,  32 

Coin's  Financial  School,  125 

Coler,  Bird,  Municipal  Govern- 
ment, 252,  253 

Colonial  parties,  4 

Commercialism  in  politics,  303 

Committees,  party  system  of, 
197  sq.;  local  work  of,  203; 
See  Campaign,  ayid  National 
Committee. 

Commons,  J.  R.,  on  Propor- 
tional Representation,  281 

Compromise  Measures  of  1850, 
44,  79  sq. 

Confederate  Party  in  1787,  10 

Congressional  Nominating  Cau- 
cus, 167;  unpopularity  of, 
169;  decline  of,  170;  opposi- 
tion to,  171;   transition  from, 

173 
Congressional  Party  Committee, 

202 
Conkling,  Senator,  187  sq. 
"Conscience  Whigs,"  43,  66,  72 
Conservatism  vs.  Radicalism,  6, 

Conservatives,  4 

Constitution  of  1787,  13;  inter- 
pretation of,  17 

Constitutional  Convention  of 
1787,  9  sqq. 

"Constitutional  Union"  Party, 

Contraction  of  currency,  oppo- 
sition to,  102  sq. 

Cooper,  Peter,  Greenback  candi- 
date for  President,  105,  109 

Corwin,  Thomas,  66,  73 


Index 


307 


"Cotton  Whigs,"  43,  66 
Crawford,  William  H.,  33,  169, 

172,  263 
"Crime  of '73,"  118 
"Cumulative  Vote,"  280 
Curtis,    George    William,     132, 

229,  253,  263,  302 


D 


Daniel,  Senator,  in  Democratic 
Convention,  1896,  177,  185  sq. 

Debs,  E.  v.,  143  sq. 

Declaration  of  Independence, 
29,  48,  51,  58,  60 

Delegate  Convention,  283  sqq.; 
reform  of,  291  sq.;  vs.  Direct 
Primaries,  292;  proposed  pro- 
visions for,  293  sq.;  Edward 
Insley  on,  293  sq. 

Democracy  and  Merit  System, 
262 

Democratic  Party,  significance 
of,  20;  under  Jackson,  34,  38 
sqq.;  influence  of  slavery  on, 
51;  schism  of,  1848,  69;  Na- 
tional Convention  of,  1848, 
71;  schism  of,  under  Bu- 
chanan, 87 ;  position  of,  during 
Civil  War,  9 1  sqq.;  and  revenue 
tariff,  95  sqq.;  schism  under 
Cleveland,  97  sqq.;  sectional 
division  of,  97  sq.;  new  lead- 
ership of ,  98 ;  radical  tendency 
of,  99;  action  of,  in  1896, 
100;  Populist  influence  on, 
100;  on  silver  question,  123 
sq.,  126;  platform  of,  1896, 
126  sq.;  gold  wing  of,  128  sq.; 
"  reorganizers  "  of,  130;  pres- 
ent struggle  in,  130  sq.;  first 
conventions  of,  174;  Charles- 
ton Convention  of ,  i860,  177, 
184;  at  Chicago,  1896,  177, 
178;  platformof  1856,  181;  of 
1892,182;  two- thirds  rule  of , 
182  sq.;  unit  rule  of,  183  sq. 

Democrats,  Jeffersonian,  13  sqq. 

Dick,  Charles,  160 

Dickinson,  Daniel  S.,  70 

Dickinson,  John,  in  Constitu- 
tional Convention,  11 

Dix,  John  A.,  72 

Doolittle,  Senator,  on  Demo- 
cratic Unit  Rule,  190 


"Doughfaces,"  70 

Douglas,  Stephen  A.,  on  Com- 
promises of  1850,  79;  on  Kan- 
sas-Nebraska Bill,  82;  on 
Missouri  Compromise,  82 ;  and 
popular  sovereignty,  87;  on 
Lecompton  question,  87  sq.; 
debate  with  Lincoln,  88  sq.; 
"Freeport  doctrine"  of,  88 
sq.;  leader  of  Northern  Demo- 
crats, 90;  vote  for,  91;  at 
Charleston,  i860,  177;  205 

Douglass,  Frederick,  139 

Dow,  Neal,  142 

Dred  Scott  Decision,  the,  85  sq., 
89  sq. 


Election,  of  President,  214; 
campaign  for,  see  Campaign. 

Electors,  Presidential,  nomina- 
tion of,  196 

Ellsworth,  Oliver,  in  Constitu- 
tional Convention,  10 

Embargo  Act,  22 

Emerson,  R.  W.,  on  Webster's 
conservatism,  67 

Equal  Rights  Party,  138 

"Era  of  Good  Feeling,"  32 

Excise,  14,  28 

Executive,  legislative  control  of, 
40 


Farmers'  Alliance,  no;  and 
theory  of  money,  112;  cam- 
paign of,  113;   119 

Federalist  Party,  11,  13;  issues 
with  Jeffersonian  Republi- 
cans, 14  sqq.;  opinions  of,  23; 
causes  for  fall  of,  1800,  27  sq.; 
168 

Fiat  -  Money  Party,  103.  See 
Greenback  Party. 

Fiat-Money  Theory,  107 

Field,  D.  D.,  69  sq. 

Fillmore,  President,  44,  45,  66, 

137 
Finality  Legislation,   1850,   79; 

Sumner  on,  80 
Finality  Men,  80  sq.;    epigram 

of,  80 
"Fire-eaters,"  43,  92 


3o8 


Index 


First  U.  S.  Bank,  14 

Fiske,  John,  Civil  Government, 

279 
Foreign  Relations,  1793,  14 
Four- Year  Law,  the,  263 
Fox,  Charles  James,  225,  226 
Franco- English  War,  14  sq. 
Franklin,  Benj.,  230 
Free-Soilers,  61,  65  sqq.;   seces- 
sion  from  Whigs,   68;     from 
Democrats,  69 ;  National  Con- 
vention of ,  1848,  72;    Burgess 
on,  72;    platform  of,   74  5^.; 
Constitutional  doctrine  of,  as 
to  slavery,  76  sq.;  relation  to 
Republicans,     78;      vote    of, 
1848-1852,  79;  81,  83  sq. 
Freedom,     of     teaching,     222; 

economic,  223 
Fremont  and  Dayton,  139 
French  Alliance,  1778,  15 
Fugitive  Slave  Law,  23,  44,  61, 

78,  205 
Funding    Scheme,    Hamilton's, 
14;  of  bonded  debt,  1866,  loi, 
104 


Garfield,  President,  on  Unit 
Rule,  189;  assassination  of, 
264 

Garrison,  W.  L.,  founds  Libera- 
tor, 51;  followers  of,  56;  ex- 
treme views  of,  56;  57,61,294 

Garrisonians,  56,  57,  61 

Gerrymander,  the,  legal  diffi- 
culties of,  276;  political  in- 
justice of,  277;  in  Ohio,  277; 
in  Indiana,  277;  President 
Harrison  on,  278;  in  Missis- 
sippi, 278;  science  of,  278; 
origin  01,  279;  remedies  for, 
279;  references  on,  282 

Giddings,  Joshua  R.,  45,  62,  67 

Gladden,  Washington,  on  "LFses 
and  Abuses  of  Party,"    295 

302. 

Goodrich,  British  Eloquence,  5 

"Goo-Goos,"  95 

Government,  functions  of,  19; 
by  law,  231 

Grand  Remonstrance,  5 

Grant,  President,  vetoes  "Infla- 
tion Bill,"  103;  opposition  to. 


140;  attempt  to  renominate 
for  third  term,  187  sq.;  194; 
263,  264 

Greeley,  Horace,  62,  74,  85,  140, 
300 

Greeley  and  Brown,  141 

Greenback  Party,  origin  of,  100 
sqq.;  opposition  to  Secretary 
McCulloch,  loi  sqq.;  opposi- 
tion to  bank-notes,  104;  oppo- 
sition to  gold  payment  of 
bonds,  104;  financial  policy  of 
104  sq.;  principles  of,  sup- 
ported by  old  party  leaders, 
102,  105;  platform  of,  1876, 
106;  opposition  to  specie-re- 
sumption, 106;  plan  for  inter- 
changeable bond,  106;  Fiat- 
Money  theory  of,  107  5^.; 
influence  of,  on  parties  and 
politics,  108;  character  of  ad- 
herents to,  108;  vote  of ,  1876, 
1880,  1884,  109;  platform  of, 
1880,  109;  fusion  of,  with 
Democracy,  109;  disappear- 
ance of,  109;  forerunner  of 
Populists,  no;  119 

Greenbacks,  100  sqq.;  opposi- 
tion to  retirement  of,  102 ;  re- 
tention of,  103;  constitution- 
ality of,  108 


H 


Hale,  John  P.,  72  sq.,  79 
"Half-Breeds,"  95 
Hallam,  on  Whig  and  Tory  par- 
ties, 7 ;   Constitutional  History 
of  England,  8 
Hamilton,    financial    measures, 
13  sq.,  19,  21;    factious  oppo- 
sition to  Adams,  28;  243 
Hanna,  Marcus,  97,  198,  200,  212 
Harrison,   Benjamin,    189,   278, 

279 
Harrison,  William  Henry,  138 
Hartford  Convention,  31,  73 
Hayes,  President,  91,  120,  263 
Hendricks,  Thomas  A.,  102,  105 
High  Commission  Court,  5 
"Higher  Law,"  doctrine  of,  61 
Hill,  David  B.,  177,  185  sq.,  300 
Hill,  Isaac,  46 

Hoar,  George  F.,  on  the  Mug- 
wump, 142,  300 


Index 


309 


Hobhouse,  Lord,  on  Patriotism, 

228,  229 
"Hunkers,"  69  sqq.,  181 


Income  Tax,  127,  145 

Independence,  economic,  224 

Independent  Democrats,  83 

"Inflation  Bill,"  veto  of,  103 

Initiative,  the,  281 

Injunction,  government  by,  25, 
127 

Insley,  Edward,  on  Primary 
Election  Reform,  294 

Internal  improvements,  33 

Irish  Nationalists,  134 

"Ironclad  Pledge"  in  Party 
Convention,  192 

Irrepressible  Conflict,  the,  Sew- 
ard on,  86 


J 


Jackson,  Andrew,  33  -  35  ; 
personal  triumph  of,  36;  per- 
sonal opposition  to,  41;  73, 
129,  137,  171,  174,  183,  263 

Jacksonian  Democrats.  34  sqq.; 
compared  with  Jeffersonian 
Republicans,  36  sq.;  in  con- 
test with  Whigs,  38  sqq.;  ele- 
ments in  opposition  to,  41; 
leadership  of,  46 ;  platform  of, 
1836,  46;  platform  of,  1840, 
47;  of  1844,  48 

Jacobins,  clubs,  15;  fear  of ,  23; 
168 

Jay,  William,  52 

Jay's  Treaty,  15  sq. 

Jefferson,  13;  on  revolution,  15; 
on  local  self-government,  16 
sq.;  on  interpretation  of  the 
Constitution,  17;  in  Ken- 
tucky Resolutions,  18  sq.;  op- 
position to  royalty,  24  sq.; 
national  democracy  of,  26  sq.; 
leadership  of,  28;  inaugural 
address  of,  29  sq.;  triumph 
of,  30;  compared  with  Jack- 
son, 36  sq.,  84;  and  bank 
money,  106;  129;  136;  168 
sq.;  243,  245 

Jeffersonian  Republicans,  13, 
20,  23;    principles  of,  29  sq.; 


and  Populists,  114;  and  mod- 
em Democracy,  129;   168;  279 

Jenckes,  Thos.  A.,  263 

Johnson,  Samuel,  Taxation  No 
Tyranny,  4 

Johnson,  Dr.,  in  Constitutional 
Convention,  10 

Julian,  George  W.,  58,  67,  215 


K 


Kansas- Nebraska  Bill,  81 
ICing,  Rufus,  in  Constitutional 

Convention,  9,  31 
"Kitchen  Cabinet,"  46 
"  Knownothings,"  84,  139 


"Landslides,"  96,  97 

Leadership,  necessity  of,  232  sq. 

Lecky,  W.  E.  H.,  on  origin  of 
' '  Tory  ' '  and  ' '  Whig, "  7 ;  His- 
tory of  England,  y;  8,9;  148; 
on  Radicalism  vs.  Conserva- 
tism, 146-148;  on  C,  J.  Fox, 
226 

Lecompton  Constitution,  87 ; 
Douglas  on,  87  sq. 

Legal-Tender  Act,  10 1;  original 
theory  of.  10 1  sq. 

Lewis,  W.  B.,  37,  46 

Liberal  Republicans,  125,  139 
sqq.;  leaders  of,  140 

Liberal  Unionists,  134 

Liberals,  4 

Liberator,  51 

Liberty  Party,  56;  purpose  of, 
58;  declarations  01,  58;  prin- 
ciples of,  59  sq.;  on  pro-slavery 
clauses  of  the  Constitution, 
60;  character  of ,  6 1 ;  respon- 
sibility for  slavery  extension, 
62;  and  Free-Soilers,  65,  75; 
72  sq. 

Lincoln,  Abraham,  on  slavery, 
51,57,59,60,86;  debate  with 
Douglas,  88  sq.;  leader  of  Re- 
publicans, 90;  vote  for,  91; 
243,  245,  300 

Local  Self-Govemment,  16;  Jef- 
ferson on,  17 

"Loco-Focos,"  138 

Lodge,  H.  C,  Life  of  Cabot,  23; 
on  the  Spoils  System,  265 


310 


Index 


Long  Parliament,  5 
Louisiana,  admission  of,  22 
Loyalists,  party  of,  8,  9.     See 
Tories. 


Macaulay,  on  origin  of  parties,  5, 

6 
McCulloch,  Hugh,  funding  policy 

of,  10 1 ;   gold-standard  policy 

of,    I02 

Maccunn,  Ethics  of  Citizenship, 
224,  231,  233,  237 

MacDufl&e,  Governor,  on  Aboli- 
tion agitation,  53,  54 

McKinley,  William,  Republican 
leader,  96  sqq.,  129,  200,  279 

Macy,  Jesse,  156,  158 

Madison,  James,  in  Constitu- 
tional Convention,  9;  13;  in 
Virginia  Resolutions,  18,  21; 
30,    49,    136,    169,    263,    278 

Madison's  Journal,  1 1 

Marcy,  Wm.  L.,  70 

Marshall,  John,  on  early  parties, 
21,  23,  24;  Life  of  Washing- 
ton, 24 

Martin,  Luther,  in  Constitu- 
tional Convention,  10 

Matthews  Resolution,  120 

Merit  System,  the,  and  spoils, 
260;   and  democracy,  262 

Mexican  War,  65  sq. 

*'  Middle  -  of  -  the  -  Road"  Popu- 
lists, 128,  146 

Milton  on  Freedom  of  Teaching, 
222 

Minor  parties,  133  sqq.;  influ- 
ence of,  134  sq. 

Minority,  rights  of,  232 

Missouri  Compromise,  repeal  of, 
44,  81 

Mixed  caucus,  172 

Money,  quantitative  theory  of, 
112;  question  of,  see  Green- 
backs, Populists,  Silver 
Party. 

Monroe,  James,  32,  136,  169 

Morgan,  WilUam,  abduction  of, 
137 

Morse,  Professor  A.  D.,  20 

Morton,  O.  P.,  85,  102 

"Mugwimips,"  95,  141 


Mulford    on  manhood  suffrage, 
236 


N 


National  Committee,  meeting  of, 
153;  control  over  National 
Convention,  155  sq.,  160; 
chairman  of,  177,198;  secre- 
tary of,  180,  199;  executive 
committee  of,  198;  origin  and 
organization  of,  199;  how 
constituted,  199;  political  im- 
portance of,  200;  new  powers 
of,  200;  subdivisions  of,  202 

"National  Democratic  Party," 
128 

National  Nominating  Conven- 
tion, first,  137,  173;  compo- 
sition of,  151  sqq.;  call  for, 
153;  city  of,  154  sq.;  ap- 
pointment of  delegates  to,  155 
sq.;  nimiber  of  delegates  in, 
156;  Territorial  representa- 
tion in,  156;  size  of,  157;  alter- 
nate delegates  in,  1 5  7 ;  how  del- 
egates are  elected  to,  157  sq.; 
statehood  recognized  in,  158; 
contested  seats  in,  158,  180; 
District  Plan  of  choosing  dele- 
gates to,  1 59 ;  character  of  dele- 
gates in,  159;  office-holders 
in,  159;  question  of  propor- 
tional representation  in,  160 
sqq.;  rise  of,  165  sqq.;  repre- 
sentative character  of ,  174;  as 
an  historical  spectacle,  175, 
176;  Mr.  Bryce  on,  176;  pre- 
liminaries of,  177;  call  to 
order,  177;  organization  of, 
178,  179;  committees  of ,  179; 
recess  of,  179;  second  session 
of,  179;  permanent  chairman 
of,  180;  platform  of,  181,  182; 
two-thirds  rule  in,  182  sq.; 
unit  rule  in,  183  sqq.;  party 
characteristics  of,  189  sq.;  in- 
structions in,  191;  "ironclad 
pledge"  in,  192;  the  Vice- 
Presidency  in,  192;  classes  of 
candidates  in,  193;  method  of 
voting  in,  194;  "break"  and 
"stampede"  in,  194  sq. 

National  Party,  9,  10.  See 
Greenback  Party. 


Index 


3" 


National  Republicans,  34.  4 1 
Nationalism  vs.   Federalism,   9, 

10,  15,  16 
Naturalization,  28 
Newcastle,  Duke  of,  224 
Nominating  System,  165  sqq. 
Non-importation,  22 
"  North  Americans,"  139 
Noyes,  Thirty  Years  of  American 

Finance,  loi,  103,  108 
Nullification,  45 
NuUifiers,  41 


O'Conor  and  Adams,  141 
"Old- Line"  Whigs,  66,  73 
Oregon,  re-occupation  of,  48 
Organization    of    Parties,    im- 
portance of,  202 ;  purposes  of, 
206   sqq.;     necessity   of,    266. 
See  Party  Machine. 
Ostrogorski,  M.,  on  nominating 

systems,  165 
Outlook,  The,  9 


Palmer  and  Buckner,  128 

Parliament,  British,  5 

Parliamentarians,  5 

Parties,  in  Colonial  and  Revo- 
lutionary periods  of  America, 
4;  origin  of,  in  England,  5; 
Macaulay  on,  5 ;  constituency 
of,  in  the  Colonies,  8;  Lecky 
and  Hallam  on,  7,  8;  in  Con- 
stitutional Convention  of 
1787,  9  sqq.;  continuing  basis 
of  division  between,  20  sq.; 
and  strict  construction,  21; 
constituencies  of  early,  25  sq.; 
horizontal  division  of ,  99 ;  im- 
portance of  organization  of, 
202;  purposes  of  organiza- 
tion, 206  sq.;  references  on, 
214,  215 

Party,  spirit  of,  3,  296,  298; 
rings  and  bosses,  242;  work 
of,  242  sq.;  perversion  of,  by 
Spoils  System,  258;  assess- 
ments of,  266  sqq.;  pay  for  ser- 
vice in,  267;  revenues  of,  268; 
uses  and  abuses  of,  295  5^^.; 
voters'  attitude  toward,   295 


sqq.;  independence  of,  295 
sqq.;  character  and  ftinction 
of,  298;  pleas  for  loyalty  to, 
299;  authority  of,  301;  and 
patriotism,  302;  references  on, 
303  sq. 

Party  Government,  3,  284;  re- 
ferences on,  214,  215 

Party  Machine,  parts  of,  151; 
organization  of,  202;  purposes 
of,  206  sqq. 

Patriotism,  225  sqq.;  funda- 
mental habits  01,  227,  228; 
Lord  Hobhouse  on,  228,  229; 
and  Party,  302 

Patriots,  party  of,  8 

Peelites,  134 

Pendleton,  Geo.  H.,  102,  105 

Pendleton  Act,  1883,  264 

People's  Part>r.     See  Populists. 

Personal  PoHtics,  period  of,  31 
sqq. 

"Petitioners,    6 

Platform,  first,  18,  38;  impor- 
tance of,  181,  182.  See  Na- 
tional Nominating  Conven- 
tion, and  Whig,  Democratic, 
and  Republican  parties. 

Plutocracy    and  a  free  ballot, 

239 
Political  apathy,  251 
Political  independence,  295  sqq.; 

illustrated  in  party  leadership, 

300;  references  on,  303  sq. 
Political  morality,  219  sqq.,  331 
Political  rights,  219  sq. 
Politician,  professional,  242  sqq.; 

compared     with     statesman, 

243.  245 
Polk,  James  K.,  48,  62,  69,    70; 

on  slavery  in  the  Territories, 

73 

Popular  Government,  essential 
conditions  of,  220  sqq. 

Populists,  antecedents  of,  no; 
grievances  of ,  1 1 1 ;  on  money, 
III  sqq.;  in  the  South,  113; 
and  Jeffersonian  Democracy, 
114;  distrust  in,  of  old  par- 
ties, 114;  and  socialism,  115; 
demands  of,  115  5g.;  vote  of, 
1892,  117;  and  Western  Dem- 
ocrats, 117;  119;  123  sqq.; 
127;  representation  of,  in 
National  Convention,  161  sq. 


312 


Index 


1y 


President  -  making,   process  of, 

Primary  Election  Reform,  283 
sqq.;  essential  features  of,  285 
sqq.;  and  independent  voter, 
286;  and  the  Australian  bal- 
lot, 287;  practical  operation 
of,  288  sq.;  objections  to,  289 
sqq.;  references  on,  294 

Prohibitionists,  142  sq. 

Proportional  Representation,  10, 
280  sq. 

Protectionists,  95 


Quay,  Senator,  162  sqq. 
"Quids,"  136 

Quincy,  Josiah,  on  admission  of 
Louisiana,  22 


Radicalism  vs.  Conservatism,  6, 
7,  8,  135;   Lecky  on,  146  sqq. 

Randall,  Life  of  Jefferson,  17,  24 

Randolph,  John,  136 

Reconstruction,  end  of,  91,  93 
»„  Referendum,  the,   145  sq.,   281 
sq. 

Religion  in  the  State,  229  sqq. 

Republican  Party,  20;  origin  of , 
^coj  6 1 ;  early  principle  of,  66 ; 
mirth  of,  81;  constituent  ele- 
aN  ments  oF,'~8^3;  name  of,  84; 
,  ^  platform  of,  1856,  85;  leaders 
of,  85;  and  Dred  Scott  deci- 
sion, 85;  position  of,  i860,  90; 
war  policy  of,  91;  on  Recon- 
struction, 93;  second  period 
of,  94  sqq.;  and  the  tariff,  95 
sqq.;  on  silver  question,  123; 
^^y^  153;  155  ^^-Z  160  sq.; 
185 

Resumption  Act,  1875,  i°3 

Revolution,    American,   parties 
in,  4,  28 

Revolution,  French,  14,  28 

Rhodes,  James  Ford,  on  election 
of  1844,  62 

Rings,  political,  242  sqq.;  defini- 
tion of,  244 

Roosevelt,  Theodore,  210,  264 

"Roundheads,"  5 


St.  John,  John  P.,  142 

Scott,  General,  44 

Scudder,  Vida  D.,  A  Weakness 
in  Democracy,  233 

Seward,  Wm.  H.,  57,  62,  74,  85 
sq.,  137,  243,  300 

Shepard,  Edward  M.,  71 

Sherman,  John,  opposition  to 
currency  contraction ,  i  o  i , 
103;  Silver  Coinage  Act  of, 
120  sq.,  124 

Ship  Money,  5 

Silver,  Coinage,  118  sqq.;  Pur- 
chase Act,  120,  124;  parity  of , 
121;  party  struggle  over,  121 
sq.;   party  platforms  on,  123 

"Silver  Grays,"  44 

Silver  Party,  117;  and  Bime- 
tallic League,  117;  conten- 
tion of,  118  sq.;  leaders  of, 
125;    129 

Silver  Republicans,  126,  129 

Slavery,  Whig  divisions  on,  43 ; 
Whig  position  on,  44;  Demo- 
cratic position  on,  47;  influ- 
ence on  parties,  50 ;  beginning 
of  agitation  on,  5  o ;  Abolition- 
ists on,  51  sqq.;  importance 
of,  59 ;  Free-Soilers  on,  65  sqq; 
Liberty  Party  and,  65;  Con- 
servative position  on,  77  sq\ 
in  the  Territories,  ySsq.;  Re- 
publican position  on,  85  sq.; 
Lincoln  and  Seward  on,  86. 
See  Free  -  Soilers,  Liberty 
Party,  Abolitionists. 

Smith,  Gerritt,  58,  139 

Smith,  Goldwin,  229 

Smith,  Green  Clay,  142 

"Snappers,"  95 

Social  Democracy,  9,  143 

Socialism,  115,  129,  143  sqq.; 
contrasted  with  anarchy,  145 

Socialist  Labor  Party,  144  sq. 

Spanish  War,  influence  of,  on 
party  issues,  130 

Spoils  System,  the,  254  sqq.; 
definition  of,  254;  evils  of, 
255  sq.;  Calhoun  on,  258;  and 
assessments,  260,  266;  and 
Merit  System,  260,  262;  and 
legislative  usurpation,  261; 
and  democracy,  262;  rise  and 


Index 


313 


Spoils  System — Continued 
decline  of,  262  5^'.;  references 
on,  265 

"Stalwarts,"  95 

Star  Chamber,  5 

States'  rights  party,  10,  26,  27 

Stevens,  Thaddeus,  43,  93,  102, 
103 

Stockton,  Commodore,  139 

Strafford,  Earl  of,  5 

"Straight  Democrats,"  1872,  141 

Stuarts  vs.  Parliamentarians,  5 

Suffrage,  problem  of,  234  sqq.; 
qualifications  for,  in  England, 
235;  basis  of,  in  England  and 
America  compared,  235;  ethi- 
cal basis  for  manhood,  236  sq.; 
for  women,  235,  238;  Black- 
stone  on,  236;  freedom  of, 
2^8  sq.;  and  plutocracy,  239; 
venality  of,  240;  Australian 
System  of,  240;  references  on, 
241 

Sumner,  Charles,  23,  67;  on 
finality  legislation,  80;  140, 
300 

Supersedure,  doctrine  of,  82 


"Tammanyites,"  95,  138 

Tariff,  question  of,  ;^^,  47  sq.; 
as  a  party  issue,  95  sqq. 

Taxation  of  America,  4 

Taxation  No  Tyranny,  John- 
son's, 4 

Taylor,  Zachary,  73  sq. 

Teller,  Senator,  Silver  revolt  of, 
126 

Texas,  annexation  of,  48,  62,  65 ; 
160  sq.,  191 

Third  parties,  131  sq.  See 
Minor  parties. 

Tillman,  Benj.  R.,  and  Popu- 
lism, 113 

Tompkins,  Daniel,  32 

Tories,  4-7,  9.  See  Conserva- 
tives. 

Towne,  C.  A.,  on  silver  coinage, 
119 

Triennial  Act,  5 

Trumbull,  Lyman,  85,  140,  300 

Two- Party  System,  131  sqq.; 
evils  of,  135 


Two-thirds  Rule,  182  sq. 
Tyler,  President,  62 

U 

Union  Labor  Party,  declaration 
of,  1888,  109;    vote  of,  no 

"Union-Savers,"  63 

Unit  Rule,  183  sqq.;  proceed- 
ings under,  185;  Republican 
attitude  on,  186  sq.,  190; 
Senator  Doolittle  on,  190 


Van  Buren,  John,  71 

Van  Buren,  Martin,  37,  46,  69; 
and  Free- Soil,  73  5g.;  79;  183; 
191,  300 

Veto,  the,  39,  43,  145 

Virginia  and  Kentucky  Resolu- 
tions, 18,  49 

Virginia  Dynasty,  32 

Von  Hoist,  64 

Voorhees,  Daniel  W.,  105 

W 

Wade,  Senator,  23,  85 

Walker  Tariff,  48' 

War  Democrats,  92 

War  of  1812,  31 

Washington,  George,  9,  13,  14 

Watkins,  Albert,  on  Two- Party 
System,  132,  135 

Watson,  Thomas,  128 

Weaver,  James  B.,  109 

Webster,  Daniel,  45,  66; 
Seventh-of-March  Speech,  67 ; 
on  Van  Buren's  Free-Soil  can- 
didacy, 73;  243,  263 

Weed,  Thurlow,  63,  71,  137 

Whig  Party,  4;  5;  origin  of,  5, 
38;  Macaulay  on,  5;  6,  7,  9, 
20,  31;  first  platform  of, 
38;  name  of,  39;  connection 
with  Revolution,  39;  Burgess 
on  policy  of,  40;  constituent 
elements  of,  41;  heterogene- 
ous character  of,  42;  plat- 
form of,  1844,  2;  division  of, 
on  slavery,  43,  50;  platform 
on  slavery,  1852,  44;  Schouler 
on  character  of,  45;  leader- 
ship of,  45 ;  on  annexation  of 
Texas,  62  sq.;   compromising 


3H 


Index 


Whig  Party — Continued 

character  of,  63;  as  "Union- 
Savers,"  63;  Massachusetts 
Convention  of,  1846,  67;  Na- 
tional   Convention   of,    1848, 


69;   83  5^.;  and  Anti-Masons, 

•,  fii 
205 


138;  first  conventions  of,  174; 


Whiskey  Rebellion,  14 
Whittier,  J.  G.,  51,  58;    Free- 
Soil  poet,  67 


Wilmot  Proviso,  43,  66,  69,  70, 
72 

Wilson,  Henry,  The  Slave  Power, 
57:67,69,85,300 

Wilson,  James,  in  Constitutional 
Convention,  9 

Wilson,  Woodrow,  on  Jack- 
sonian  Democracy,  35  sq. 

Winthrop,  R.  C,  opposes  anti- 
slavery  policy,  67 

Wirt  and  EUmaker,  138 


St 


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